A new UNEP iPhone application allows you to calculate your impact to the environment. The idea of releasing harmful carbon emissions into the atmosphere through driving to work, taking a train or flying somewhere may perhaps still be elusive to some. Especially as these activities seem harmless and we do them every day, it may be hard to conceptualise the real extent of damage your choices are making.

The UNEP application draws attention to the critical role played by ecosystems such as salt marshes, mangroves, tropical forests and seagrasses in tackling climate change. Users of the new iPhone application can convert their personal carbon footprint for journeys taken by air, train or road. They will then be shown the equivalent area of a particular ecosystem (such as a tropical forest) that can absorb this amount of carbon dioxide.

How many mangroves does it take to offset a transatlantic flight? What consumer actions can we take to reduce damage to rainforests? Answers to these questions and many more are provided by the UNEP Carbon Calculator iPhone application.

The free iPhone application, named UNEP Carbon Calculator, is already available online in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Japanese, Russian and Spanish.

Blue and REDD Carbon

The UNEP Carbon Calculator provides users with in-depth information on the vital role of coastal and terrestrial ecosystems in both storing and sequestering carbon.

The Blue Carbon concept aims to promote better management of coastal ecosystems such as mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, saltwater marshlands, which serve as vital 'carbon sinks', and can store, in the case of mangrove forests, up to 1,900 tons of carbon dioxide per hectare.

Information on other key climate initiatives, such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) is provided.

The UNEP application also highlights the valuable natural services provided by ecosystems, such as the protection of shorelines from storms, support for fisheries and provision of materials such as timber and medicine.