Dubai students develop app to help users track their carbon emissions

A group of students from a Dubai school have developed a working prototype of a blockchain-based emission tracking app.

The initiative by the Gems Wellington International School students have also won them the 'Most Innovative Team award' at The Uber Global Hackathon competition, sealing a position in the top three globally.

It is the world's first-ever virtual, global hackathon for high school students aged 13 to 18.

Under this banner, a series of regional and global events, aspiring software developers, programmers, and designers came together to solve real-world problems with technology and creativity.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Anwesha Nath, who is currently a Grade 12 student at Jumeirah College, developed this app along with her former colleagues Shubham Kumar and Abdullah Obeidat to clinch the coveted position.

Explaining the brainchild behind this app, Anwesha says, "What we've tried to create is an app which will help users track and record their carbon footprint by using partnered services' data onto a secure, decentralized blockchain network. For example, if Anwesha Nath is using a car ride to go from her house to Dubai Mall, a carbon emission is released. But how do you track that? That is tracked onto our app, and the users check their records onto the blockchain network."

Explaining the international contest that saw the participation of students from 68 different countries, Anwesha says, "For the competition, they gave us a multitude of themes. So, we chose climate preservation because it's a vast topic that requires attention. As people travel and move, they forget that the world is getting affected (because of them). So, we created this app to help and influence everyone's daily decisions with eco-friendly alternatives."

"It is at the level of incorporation now. The first part was to pitch this idea to the competition. The next step is to become a startup company one day."

By tracking car rides with connected taxi-cab partners, plane trips from airlines services and other miscellaneous emissions, the app is able to determine one's usage every day and compare it against other carbonlink users.

"Users also receive a monthly report for their emissions. UBER4U and (GREEN) Meta are both initiatives which are part of the CarbonLink app. UBER4U was built as a revenue sustainability model for taxi companies to adapt so that users and drivers eventually transition from fuel-based to EV-based cars. The (GREEN) Meta initiative was built to help users keep a cheak and track their daily emission usage," she adds.

"Meta is linked to the Metaverse. It keeps users interested in the app. If I am logging my carbon emission daily, on the GREEN Meta, it will reflect the area or land that one is saving because of their initiative. In the UAE, there is a lot of unused land. So, one can go there and maybe even plant a tree there. So, that's taking the metaverse to the real life."

Shedding light on the inspiration behind the app, which Anwesha and her teammates developed over a period of two months, she says, "Our app was inspired by one of the multitude of themes provided in the competition to choose from."

"Climate preservation is a major topic that seriously needs attention as the world faces disastrous side effects from the daily lifestyles. As humans grow and evolve as a race, we tend to move on with the high pace of the world, but do not stop to think of the consequences of our actions on our planet. Hence, the app is aimed at helping to change and influence our daily decisions with eco-friendly options."

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