SEI develops climate calculator for Swedish WWF

Thursday, 06 August 2009 09:19

Measures the carbon savings individuals can make based on pledged actions to reduce their carbon footprint.

The calculator was based on research that assessed the contribution to climate change from consumption, taking account of all global emissions produced in order to satisfy Swedish demand.

Together with SEI researchers Jan Minx and John Barrett, and Glen Peters from Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Kate Scott of the SEI York office found that that the global climate change impact of Swedish citizens is 17 percent higher than suggested by the territorial emission account (domestic production only). Unless the territorial emission account includes emissions embodied in traded products consumed within the country, Sweden’s contribution to climate change, like most other industrialised countries, will be under-estimated.

- This approach is not constrained to domestic production but considers the emissions embedded in imports to Sweden for consumption in Sweden, regardless of where they are produced globally. Over three quarters of Sweden’s carbon footprint is associated with household demand, mainly relating to energy, travel and food, Scott says.

Covers main impact activities in our daily lives
The carbon calculator (Swedish language) is designed to allow people to calculate their individual carbon footprint broken down in to four categories: (1) home and energy, (2) travel, (3) food and (4) consumables and waste. They can then pledge to make certain carbon saving actions under each category and calculate what their new carbon footprint would be.

For example this includes installation of renewable energy, purchasing green electricity, insulating your home, substituting car travel with public transport, riding a bike to weekly sports training, having a less meat intensive diet, and buying second hand clothes and furniture.

- This calculator won’t ask you about every aspect of your life and every item you buy, but it will cover the main impact activities associated with our daily lives. It is an educational tool to help increase your understanding of where you can make carbon savings and contribute to reduced impacts from climate change. The results should be viewed as more indicative of the relative impact of the different actions – and which actions will give you big savings, Scott says.

See the carbon calculator here (Swedish language)