Inhabitants of a town in Finland can earn rewards, including bus tickets or free food, if they cut vehicle use, under a scheme to lure the public into lower-carbon lifestyles.
The EU-funded “CitiCap” project allows people in the town of Lahti to track their carbon emissions as they move around, using an app that detects whether they are in a vehicle, on public transport, walking or cycling.
Anyone who uses up less than their allocated carbon allowance each week earns “virtual euros,” tradable for benefits such as swimming or bus tickets, as well as free bicycle lights, or a slice of cake and a coffee at a cafe.
“Lahti is a very car-dependent city and our goal is that by 2030 more than 50 percent of all trips are made by sustainable transport modes,” project manager Anna Huttunen said.
The current figure stands at 44 percent.
However, the project’s wider aim is to develop a new method for encouraging greener behavior, using a “personal carbon trading” system that other cities can copy.
“CitiCap has gained a lot of interest from all over the world, not only in Europe but also in the US and Canada,” Huttunen said.
The concept is modeled on the EU’s carbon trading scheme, under which firms and governments are allocated carbon credits, and must pay to pollute more than this amount, or can sell off any surplus if they emit less.
The CitiCap app gives each participant a weekly carbon “budget.”
The average person in Lahti, a town of 120,000 inhabitants “emits 21kg of carbon dioxide equivalent a week,” said Ville Uusitalo, the project’s head of research.
The app challenges users to reduce this by one-fourth, meaning on average replacing 20km of driving with public transport or cycling.
Researchers also hope to learn whether larger rewards would encourage more citizens away from their vehicles.
“It’s possible to earn 2 euros if your mobility emissions are really low,” Uusitalo said. “But this autumn, we intend to increase the price tenfold.”
The COVID-19 lockdown led to a drastic drop in vehicle journeys, meaning that the project’s researchers cannot yet discern the effects of the app.
However, they will continue to collect data next year, when Lahti is to be crowned the “European Green Capital.”
So far, 2,000 residents have downloaded the app, with up to 200 active users at a time.
“People find it very interesting to see their own emissions,” Huttunen said.
City council worker Mirkka Ruohonen, who has been using the app for about seven months, said that she was surprised to see the effects of her own travel.
“I went for a hiking weekend and we did 15km of hiking, but I had to travel 100km by car,” she said. “After that I checked the app and I was like: ‘Was that a good thing?’ Maybe for me, but not for the environment.”
However, Ruohonen has not yet managed to earn any bonuses as she does not own a vehicle and has less scope for lowering her emissions.
Ruohonen said that she was unfazed by the privacy implications of an app that records all her travel.
“I think all the apps that I use collect some information,” she said.
Huttunen said that the app meets the EU’s data regulations, and that external bodies would not be allowed to analyze the data.
The scheme’s creators hope it can help people manage their emissions related to food and other consumption, too.
“Mobility is only one part of our carbon footprint,” Uusitalo said. “There are many options for how you can put personal carbon trading into action.”
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