Blockchain Can Strengthen the Climate Action Fight
Crypto markets have spun wildly this past month as we’ve seen pundits and experts trade opinions yet again on the climate impact of blockchain. While this round of discussion was kicked off by Elon Musk’s infamous tweeting on bitcoin’s energy usage, it is clear we’ve been here before. This discussion has been happening for almost a decade, asking the same questions: What is the climate impact of cryptocurrency and blockchain? How can it be mitigated?
This time, something is different. The first reaction of the sector (aside from some defiant tweets directed to Mr. Musk himself) was to immediately distribute education about climate action & blockchain geared towards the non-technical reader and policymaker. The second, and the focus of this post, was the launch of initiatives that promise to address these public concerns - one notable example being the Crypto Climate Accord. The accord is a private initiative that aims to lead the entire crypto/blockchain industry’s transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 and is “inspired by the Paris Climate Agreement.”
Through these two reactions, it is clear that the ecosystem has realised that the issue of climate and carbon emissions is not going away. We now have a healthy, diverse sector that is not only solving for its own carbon issues - but is actively using its technology to drive climate action across the world.
The next step is to make sure anything we as a sector do is real. It is easy to announce a climate blockchain project or make promises on climate change - it is far harder to design and maintain a project with the governance controls to deliver on its promises. Every project that has signed onto projects like the Crypto Climate Accord, every protocol that is solving a climate issue, and every company working on blockchain must institute strong governance that ensures alignment and delivery on their promises.
Governance ensures that these projects and initiatives are operating legally, internationally and nationally. In the climate sphere, governance also ensures projects align to international standards that have been exhaustively researched and laid out in the UN SDGs and Paris Climate Agreement. It is not enough to be “inspired” by these agreements. They are fundamental to the success of the climate fight. If we don’t do this now, we will have no valid defence the next time this news cycle on climate and blockchain arrives. Our ecosystem will deserve all the criticism it receives for our inability to deliver on our promises.
To get started, INATBA’s Climate Action Working Group has released a paper reviewing the most important aspects of integrating governance into climate projects. If you represent or work on any project, protocol, or initiative that seeks to address climate action through blockchain and related technologies, please use this report as a guide to develop robust governance in your organisation.
If you want to learn more about contributing to INATBA’s next Climate Action report, get in touch with me. We are always looking for more diverse voices and projects.