Are Tech Solutions Really Making A Difference in Fighting Climate Change: Insights from the Green Future Conference

“Sustainability has to be accompanied by responsibility, because it does not work without it!”

This was one of the main points from the second edition of the Green Future Conference in Split, Croatia last week, and one that has caught my attention the most during the two days that brought together international leaders, experts, and enthusiasts in the field of sustainable development.?

The second edition of the conference featured a lineup of more than fifty speakers from around the world and Croatia, each armed with their own unique perspectives and insights. Three key themes took center stage throughout the conference: environment, energy, and e-mobility.?

Investing in Miracles Vs. Investing in What We Know It Works?

The energy sessions kicked off a particularly interesting discussion as to whether the tech solutions that we are implementing are making a difference - and as Hayden Young from Netherland-based climate VC SET Ventures outlined in an impressive presentation:?

“We are seeing that investors, governments, corporations and founders are focusing their time, their money, their energy on hard tech and deep tech solutions, such as carbon capture and storage, more nuclear power and bio energy. Or better said, the types of technology that require so much science to achieve feasibility, capital to bring to market that several experts in the field have labeled them as miracle technology. The problem with miracles is that when they don't work, they really aren't worth a damn.”

For Young, what can work for us is already in front of us: and that’s wind, water and solar energy. And this was definitely an inspiring reminder that the solutions we seek are already within our grasp, waiting to be embraced and implemented into our everyday lives.

The Road To Sustainable Tourism?

Sustainable tourism was another topic that caused controversy and a very much lively discussion - is it possible, or is it a utopia? Opinions on this topic were very much different - on one hand, the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent restrictions showed that a more sustainable tourism is indeed possible, with much less pollution and less waste - but on the other hand, as one of participants said, is that really a world in which we would want to live in, with all of those restrictions, especially regarding traveling.

For others however, tourism can also be an opportunity to do something more than sightseeing and eating and drinking at fancy restaurants and bars - and Tijmen Sissing (Trashpacker) is one of those people. The Dutch entrepreneur came to Split with a mission of making the city the first plastic free tourism destination of Croatia.?

After witnessing a big response to his actions (not only in Croatia, but elsewhere as well), Tijmen now also aims to do this all around the world, and does so by collecting one plastic bottle and piece of waste at a time - illustrating how no mission is too small when it comes to working toward a sustainable future.

For the mayor of Split, Ivica Puljak , such actions can also help motivate citizens to change their mentality, behavior and beliefs. And the city of Split is also doing its part in motivating its citizens with activities and projects such as greening of public spaces, bike sharing systems, intelligent transport system, pilot project public lightning, and photovoltaics among others.

Can Blockchain Save the Planet??

Another interesting question posed was whether blockchain can save the planet? According to Sandi Fati? from Calimero Network , it can indeed, and by leveraging the power of blockchain when it comes to the tokenization of carbon credits for example, much can be done, and a lot faster at this point.?

Participants also touched upon the role of how humanitarian organizations are adapting to the challenges of climate change. For Sebastien Cazeneve from the International Medical Corps , right now for NGOs it's all about reducing the impact of the operations and adopting sustainable supply-chain approaches.?

And corporations and startups are in the same boat - the race to go greener is on for everyone. Fintech heavyweight Revolut is in the race as well, with its initiative of having more and more digital cards replace the use of physical cards - a step that is in the direction of making fintechs go greener.

The global delivery service Glovo gave examples on how they have built their impact strategy that focuses on shrinking their carbon footprint.?

All these discussions on the conference happen in the context of the undeniable reality of the climate crisis. The evidence is all around us – from extreme weather conditions to rising sea levels, and at this point, we need to run, not walk, towards a greener future and one that is going to make sure that our future generations inherit a much healthier planet.