Prof. Johannes Reichl presented his findings on CO₂ emissions to the European Parliament this week, particularly for non-specialists on just how much greenhouse gas emissions passenger and freight transport can generate, and the latest information on the amount of emissions caused by using transportation services.

The European Commission aims to rectify the situation by creating a proposal, the "CountEmissions EU" regulation, intended to provide EU citizens with transparent information about transport-related emissions, calculated in accordance with standardized regulations. Prof. Johannes Reichl (head of the LIT Future Energy Lab at the JKU) presented his team's research findings on this topic to the European Parliament and the European Commission.

The project focused on issues such as how this type of information could potentially influence people’s everyday decisions, and whether or not having this information could result in sustainable behavioral changes. A three-year Climate Campaigners project revealed that the public is sensitive to information regarding their carbon footprint and that the proposed regulation could help hit climate targets more quickly.

Following his presentation to members at the EU Parliament's Committee on Transport and Tourism, Prof. Reichl remarked: "I am pleased that European policy-makers are interested in our work and this shows just how much direct impact research can have in both politics and in our society."