World’s Climate Change Crisis & Blockchain
Today, humanity is facing the biggest challenge of history, which is climate change. To deal with the climate change problem the states gathered on a single forum, called the Kyoto protocol, 1997 and the Paris agreement 2016. These two agreements were simply a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These efforts were further expanded to take part in transitional bodies containing civil society groups, cities, national and international firms, and organizations to play their role.
However, sadly, despite these efforts, the only progress that has been made so far is to identify the problem and devising solutions. Such as climate action, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Nevertheless, the world has failed in the pursuit of application of climate action, as predicted by experts global warming is still unaffected. The world is in the crisis of building a system that can accelerate and monitor the steps taken by a state to deal with the climate crisis. So, how the world can achieve that?
How Block-Chain is the answer:
Blockchain is the technology that can provide the foundation to provide the trust for states to work together and finally make progress. Because collaboration is needed to decrease emissions close to, zero by 2050. The technologies like big data, artificial intelligence, the Internet of things, and remote sensors can help in measuring the mitigation and outcomes of the adopted methods. With a collaboration of these digital technologies, Blockchain can provide the tracking of real-time impacts.
Block-Chain provides Transparency:
The double-counting of carbon emissions presents a new problem and suggests a transparent mechanism to gain information. Smart contracts are an economical and efficient way to track the activities made for carbon reduction. It makes sure that two organizations are not claiming the same Carbon- counterpoise activities, for example, two organizations investing the money in the same greenhouse or tree plantation program.
Smart contracts are more like accounting and reporting mechanisms. Blockchain-powered smart contracts can deliver the system to give carbon-credit where it’s due. This will encourage organizations and states to increase their carbon-counterpoise activities and engender trust, as someone else can’t claim their efforts.
Fair distribution of Climate-Credits:
For the non-bank account holder individuals. Technologies like face or iris recognition and fingerprints combined with blockchain can help individuals to claim carbon credits. Carbon credits could be of any type of subsidies, microcredits, greencoins or any other form of payment. This will convince climate deniers to come forward and join hands in saving the world from global warming.
Reports with evidence and proof:
Everything seems promising, but yet there’s another challenge that presents itself, which is to collect evidence of the carbon-counterpoise activities that have occurred. Again, the combination of Internet-of-things and block-chain can save the day. The IOT enabled devices are increasing massively and they are a significant source of information. Not a reliable one but this problem can be handled by gathering the information by relying on multiple devices. Offering rewards for correcting the falsified information and the detection of inimical reporters. This can help to identify and measure gaining the evident information on the carbon reduction efforts on a local scale.
Backsliding from commitments:
The carbon-reduction efforts need some financing and new ways to be implemented to utilize new technologies for the production of goods. The US president Donald Trump backslides from the commitment of the Paris agreement. . Courtesy of the current Covid-19 pandemic the worries are growing in other countries that their governments won’t be able to honour their climate-change-related promises.
If there’s a monetary deposit put in place, and confiscating those deposits if the state was not able to comply with reduction goals. By using smart contracts (for tracking), it is possible to refrain governments from breaking their commitments. Those confiscated deposits can be distributed to those who fulfilled the requirements as climate credits (green coins or other forms of payments). This will result in a better way to enforce activities as committed. Also, this will entice more advanced climate commitments and as no one is going to back out it will remove the concerned from participating bodies.
Decentralized Carbon-Counterpoise Authority:
If there was, a working blockchain-powered Decentralized Carbon-Counterpoise Authority in place, instead of only criticizing Donald Trump’s decision. They could’ve implemented smart contracts devised to compensate affected workers to enforce more advanced commitments for the climate change crisis to the US government. As Microsoft said to spend $1 billion to become a carbon-negative company, this would’ve made a little more sense if they pledged this to a Decentralized Carbon-Counterpoise Authority. This would’ve encouraged other smaller companies to plant more trees and other carbon-offsetting activities, and held Microsoft accountable if they fail to entertain their claims. This can gather funds consisting of billions to be spent on the collaborated efforts for this optimum decarbonized environment goals.
Some Hard Realities:
Everything looks good theoretically, what if the most significant state does not agree to join the Decentralized Carbon-Counterpoise Authority. Powerful states or companies with a history of broken promises are more likely to oppose or not to join the decentralized authority. Especially when they know, everything will be transparent and there will be some consequences if someone breaks their commitment.
Besides, there are reservations in trusting the data provided by Block-chain, there are questions on its efficiency and reliability. Block-chain can cover many of the areas of the uncertainty of its credibility, but there are some grey areas. Chain-link, a startup company suggested networks for information collection. Decentralized networks.
As Decentralized Carbon-Counterpoise Authority will impose algorithms to take the decisions, political opposition is expected. It is hard for the whole world to be on the same page even to deal with the problem that is going to affect us all. To overtake this big obstacle some small steps are necessary to keep progressing for achieving a world free from climate change crisis.