The World Economic Forum (WEF) published a white paper outlining options for using blockchain technology and regenerative finance (ReFi) tools to combat climate change.
The Crypto Sustainability Coalition, a WEF working group that explores the potential of the Web3 sphere to combat climate change, presented a report exploring the opportunities blockchain technology offers in this area.
Specifically, the paper focuses on the potential of blockchain-based infrastructure to mitigate climate change by democratizing property rights, increasing transparency and integrity, and providing real-time visibility into emission reduction and sequestration efforts.
The paper presented is labeled as a textbook on regenerative finance (ReFi) and a guide for integrating blockchain into existing decarbonization mechanisms. The document focuses on real-world work examples and use cases.
Anna Lerner, CEO of Climate Collective, notes that blockchain technology, as well as artificial intelligence, machine learning, remote sensors, and other online technologies, create immense potential for raising capital for climate change tools and scaling verifiable measures in this area.
The main obstacles to the mass adoption of blockchain in decarbonization are seen by experts as a lack of regulatory clarity, gaps in education, reputational costs associated with the technology itself, a lack of focus on real-world impact, and the need for unprecedented levels of coordination.
Similar initiatives are already evolving, both in the private sector and at the scale of major intergovernmental organizations. For example, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the UN Climate Change Global Innovation Hub (UNFCCC), and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) successfully tested tokenized green bonds as part of Genesis 2.0. Shell, Accenture, and Amex GMT launched a blockchain platform for trading tokenized carbon-neutral aviation fuel.
