Tackling Climate Change with Blockchain Technology
To begin, I’ll address the concern around the carbon emissions released in mining Bitcoin and Ethereum. Cryptocurrency is only one of the uses of blockchain. Blockchain can be applied in many industries education, energy, entertainment, healthcare , and many more. Over the next weeks, I will be exploring and covering the many use cases of blockchain with examples.
Carbon emissions is the number one cause for climate change, one of the biggest challenges we will face in the future. It only makes sense that it cannot be solved on its own, we need technology such as the blockchain technology to tackle the climate change problem. Developers, environmentalists, and companies are continuously innovating methods of leveraging the blockchain technology to mitigate carbon emissions.
Smart-Contract Payment Protocols
An initiative is using blockchain as an automated payment system that calculates individual carbon emissions and allows consumers, companies, and the government to get rewards in carbon credit. In this way, blockchain, by using smart contracts can track and report on the reduction or increase of the population’s carbon footprint in real-time with specific statistics to know what’s working for the environment or against it.
Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) of Greenhouse Gases
Regen Network is an example of using blockchain technology to monitor and verify environmental performance whilst sharing data and promoting labor. They do this by using automated response sensors to produce data on changes in the health of any predefined geographical area. Also, the ‘validation protocols’ used in the Regen Network are not energy intensive and promote greater participation from forest-dependent communities.
Traceability of Recycled Material
Blockchain has proven to be a valuable tool in the supply chain industry to monitor the source and quality of raw materials. Blockchain can help consumers know about products beyond the aesthetics and functionality, it can help customers know the sustainability and ethics of products. Circulor is an example of a company that utilizes blockchain to ensure the recycling of materials including electronics, plastics, and EV batteries. Circulor uses a Hyperledger Fabric-based Oracle Blockchain Platform to create a unique digital identity for materials stored in a distributed ledger. The platform lets them track materials from their source, through the manufacturing process, to the final product while assessing the existence of abnormalities or fraudulent activity.
Discussions on how blockchain can manage carbon emissions are relatively new and the social and environmental costs are ambiguous. Blockchain and decentralized networks can be leveraged in several industries to establish a transparent and impenetrable system. Regardless, I’m very optimistic of the several ways to solve climate change using technology.