How Blockchain can help fight climate change
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In the late 1970s, British meteorologist Jonathan Shanklin noticed that ozone levels were beginning to decline. By 1984, the ozone layer above Halley Bay Research Station in Antarctica had lost a third of its thickness compared to previous decades, creating a gap in Earth’s natural buffer between harmful UV rays and us. During these years, scientists developed an awareness of climate change and how humans are accelerating it.
Over 40 years later, climate change confronts us on several fronts – from food waste to plastic pollution, deforestation and air pollution. Fortunately for us, the growing number of technological and other solutions built to fight on these fronts are equally diverse. Flashy ideas, like technologies that literally suck carbon dioxide out of the air, as well as electric cars produced by the company of a certain Twitter-loving billionaire, get the most attention from the general public, and for good reason.
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The Energy Department under Joe Biden launched a $3.5 billion program to scale up Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology in May in a bet on a technology that could make a significant dent in the quest for carbon neutrality without requiring people to consume less . Under the leadership of Elon Musk, Tesla promises a future where electric cars will be both cool and affordable.
Less often, however, we hear about the more subtle technologies working behind the scenes to green our manufacturing and supply chain – the AI video commentary tools used to separate recyclables or the fully recyclable wetsuits for surfing. A company called Grace Breeding is among the first to utilize Nitrogen Fixation Technology (NFT) to increase grain yield by 18% during wheat production.
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This brings us to the biggest challenge facing everyone in the fight to combat climate change. It’s not that we lack green tech developments – the market is expected to grow by 21.6% annually, to the tune of $417 billion by 2030. As climate disasters become more common and the urgency for action increases, it’s no wonder to predict that the number may rise. even more so in the coming years. The problem lies more in coordinating national and global efforts effectively, a process known as climate governance.
How do elected officials focused on short-term successes—or the appearance of such successes—mobilize countries to harness technology to combat long-term climate and sustainability challenges? How do countries with competing interests work together towards this goal?
Interestingly, the solution to the first problem lies partly in the second. Especially in the case of what we know as the West, agreements and commitments between countries tend to outlive domestic initiatives. The major exception came in the form of Donald Trump’s exit from the Paris climate accords just one year after Barack Obama entered them. Of course, President Biden’s re-entry into the agreement signals that the United States is serious about long-term commitments with other countries to combat climate change.
Replicating such a deal with Russia – especially now – or China, the only country in the world that produces more carbon emissions than the US, will undoubtedly be a much bigger challenge. Such an agreement will inevitably come if we are serious about reducing emissions globally. And the Paris Agreement is an excellent first step.
Moving away from geopolitics and more towards Silicon Valley, embracing blockchain is another important step. Yes, that’s right – the very technology that has gotten a bad rap for releasing too many emissions in the mining process. To be clear, that doesn’t mean supporting probably 95% of blockchain projects that don’t do anything meaningful. This means that the blockchain as a technology offers special advantages for improving climate management.
Blockchain offers a transparent ledger that effectively tracks donations to climate causes. With blockchain, governments and watchdog groups can easily ensure that money is legislated to fund climate technology projects effectively. Governments are known for inefficiency and lack of accountability, and blockchain can work towards solving that. Its immutability makes it virtually tamper-proof minus a significant hack, and blockchain is notoriously difficult to hack.
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It is already being used in the private sector. Climate investment platform Bitgreen, which raised $5 million in Reg CF crowdfunding on Republic, is building its layer-1 infrastructure on the famous green Polkadot network. The idea is to work to close the sustainability gap by strengthening climate action to enjoy the benefits of blockchain.
For those still concerned about blockchain’s overall reputation, even the Ethereum blockchain itself, notorious for its emissions, is upgrading to a proof-of-stake model that will reduce emissions by 99 percent. With the exception of the uniquely rigid Bitcoin, the entire industry is moving in this direction.
Governments would be foolish not to leverage blockchain to boost innovation and address the climate governance challenge. As governments continue to rely on technology in the fight against climate change and crypto-regulatory frameworks flourish everywhere, we can expect that they will.
