The Blue and REDD Carbon iPhone application allows users to calculate their personal carbon footprint for journeys taken by air, train or road.
Users will also be shown the equivalent area of a particular ecosystem, such as salt marshes, mangroves, tropical forests and seagrasses, required to store that amount of carbon dioxide, thereby providing users with information on the role of coastal and terrestrial ecosystems in storing and sequestering carbon.
13 December 2011: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has launched an iPhone application intended to draw attention to the critical role played by ecosystems in tackling climate change. The Blue and REDD Carbon iPhone application was launched at the Eye on Earth Summit, which is convening in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According to UNEP, the application allows users to calculate their personal carbon footprint for journeys taken by air, train or road. Users will also be shown the equivalent area of a particular ecosystem, such as salt marshes, mangroves, tropical forests and seagrasses, required to store that amount of carbon dioxide, thereby providing users with information on the role of coastal and terrestrial ecosystems in storing and sequestering carbon.
The application also highlights the natural services provided by ecosystems, including the protection of shorelines from storms, support for fisheries, and provision of materials such as timber and medicine. The application provides users a variety of suggestions and guidelines to show how individual actions can help limit the environmental degradation of coastal and terrestrial ecosystems. [UNEP Press Release]