Want to travel into the future to see what the weather could be like 20 years from now? There’s an app for that. In fact, there’s more than one. WbPanorama, is just one of three apps by Latin American developers that have been shortlisted for the World Bank Climate Change Application competition.
Using World Bank data, earlier this year the World Bank challenged participants to develop apps which raised awareness and improved preparedness for the consequences of Climate Change. The winner will be announced in a special ceremony in Washington, DC this week.
Launched as an open competition, “Apps for Climate" was designed to attract the best ideas from software developers, civil society and those involved in development issues. And judges were impressed by the quality and creativity of the dozens of proposals presented to them.
The winners —competing over a US$15,000 main prize— will be chosen among 14 finalists, three of whom come from Latin America. Meet the finalists:
Bolivia: Alvaro Molina, Telecommunications and Systems Engineer at Bolivia’s Universidad Catolica
Alvaro’s app, FuelECOnomics compares 45,000 cars by their fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, allowing users to map out routes, estimating fuel costs and the journey’s carbon footprint.
“Users are able to see the way their car, and its fuel consumption, affects their country’s total carbon dioxide emissions, as well as their impact on climate change. Having a fuel efficient car is good for the wallet, but also for the environment,” Molina maintains.
