New Application Tracks Personal Carbon Footprint

Scientists at a European commission research centre have developed a mobile phone application that allows users to see how their daily choices impact climate change.

The technology, called mobGAS, can calculate daily emissions of three major greenhouse gases -- carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide -- caused by an individual, said the commission Friday.

Information about everyday activities such as cooking, transport, lighting and electronic appliances is put into the application to calculate emissions.

A user diary of daily, weekly and yearly emissions can be registered on a secure website, allowing a comparison with national and world averages.

The application also includes an animation reflecting the user's contribution to the Kyoto Protocol emission reduction targets.

The application is available in all 21 EU official languages and can be downloaded free of charge into mobile phones of individuals.

The commission, the executive body of the EU, hopes that the application can raise awareness of climate change among individuals.

Individual behaviour, such as how people travel, the appliances they use or the food they eat, can make a real difference to greenhouse gas emissions, the commission said.

The application will be showcased at the UN climate change conference in Bali, Indonesia, next week.

The EU is championing global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions so that global warming will not become disastrous.

EU leaders have pledged to unilaterally reduce emissions by at least 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, and by 30 percent provided that other developed countries agreed to make similar efforts.

The EU is also actively engaged in efforts to launch global negotiations for climate change commitments after the Kyoto Protocol provisions expire in 2012.