LIPASTO:Transport emission database

LIPASTO is a calculation system for transport energy consumption and emissions in Finland. The system comprises two separate units, the emission inventory part and the unit emission database part. This article is an introduction to the LIPASTO system, the main focus being on the unit emission database. The database contains energy consumption and emission figures for both passenger and freight transport, expressed as grams per passenger kilometre or tonne kilometre. These types of data are needed, for example, when calculating the carbon footprint of a transport service or when assessing the life cycle emissions of a consumer product. The LIPASTO system has been developed by VTT, and all main results are published on a free website www.lipasto.vtt.fi