GreenTrade Future Carbon Credits

GreenTrade together with Planet Winter School, Vienna

frederick — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 08:09:33 +0000

15.04.2024: The event “How do we bridge the funding gap for nature restoration“

PWS’24 event: “How do we bridge the funding gap for nature restoration?” is co-hosted by GreenTrade and takes place at Climate Lab in Vienna. The event is focused on scaling climate finance.

PWS (Planet Winter School) is a community of enthusiastic students, forward-thinking academics, and innovative industry practitioners in the field of climate & ESG. The School offers a platform for participants to explore the most recent empirical research and industry best practices. The interactive learning environment includes lectures, panel discussions and workshops.

Frederick Leuschner, CEO and co-founder of GreenTrade, is an organizer, co-host and speaker at the event.

We will report about this event on this blog.

GO to PWS

GO to Climate Lab

Blockchain for Scaling Climate Action

frederick — Sat, 13 Apr 2024 18:25:59 +0000

Climate, Carbon Markets and Blockchain

ARTICLE “BLOCKCHAIN FOR SCALING CLIMATE ACTION”

This is a white paper published 25 April 2023 on World Economic Forum.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world. As stated in its mission, it, “engages business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.”

You can download a pdf on WEF:

Digital transformation across the environment and climate sector is an urgent opportunity for meaningful action. Other sectors – from retail to finance to manufacturing – have proven the efficiency and productivity benefits of connectivity, automation and data analytics, but the climate sector – where the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has recently underscored the necessity of swift action – is still largely analogue and relies on limited (and outdated) data. To not fully explore and adopt available digital transformation and innovation is the decision to hinder necessary progress on climate action. Conventional methods cannot be relied on to tackle perhaps the biggest-ever threat to humanity. Global climate infrastructure, tools and coordination technologies are needed to keep pace with the changing planetary ecosystem, transcend borders and span social, economic, cultural and governmental domains. This is where blockchain can help.

Blockchain is one of several emerging technologies being explored to address urgent environmental issues such as biodiversity loss, disaster displacement and energy grid deficiencies, as well as resource allocation and coordination – all critical parts of this complex, intersectional, intergenerational and multicultural climate challenge. The defining qualities of blockchains – decentralized, open and global – make them powerful tools that can provide breadth and depth to current climate mitigation and adaptation efforts. Yet, as is the case with any technology, there must be consideration of the unintended consequences, technological maturity and implementation approaches that may impact the people, communities and natural ecosystems already facing climate inaction.

Through ethnographic research, evidence-based climate innovation case studies, and considerations including climate change’s historical, political, economic and cultural contexts, it is investigated how blockchain is incentivizing and can continue to incentivize a planet-positive economy focused on financing regeneration and climate action at scale. Blockchain can democratize ownership and reallocate resources to shift power dynamics to the people most knowledgeable of, and most vulnerable to, the effects of climate change. Blockchain could also improve the transparency and integrity of existing decarbonization mechanisms like carbon markets. When paired with digital tools for measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) – such as remote sensors, drone imagery and artificial intelligence – digital environmental assets and carbon accounting systems can provide real-time visibility into the effectiveness of emissions reduction and sequestration efforts. As such, these technologies can serve as powerful tools that help communicate and coordinate globally to distribute resources for a world that is flourishing with life. Blockchain adoption and implementation across decarbonization sectors will require thoughtful coordination, meaningful action across layers of society and industry, education and balanced regulation. Entrepreneurs and investors will be betting on this space not existing in a vacuum. It is hoped that this paper catalyses the important conversations needed to accelerate these emerging technologies to address climate change.

Soil plays a pivotal role in carbon sink

frederick — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 11:40:32 +0000

At this years COP28 in Dubai from November 30 to December 12, 2023, Violet George interviewed me for her article about the launch of the International Soil Carbon Industry (ISCIA) for the online magazine Carbon Herald.

GreenTrade is a founding member of ISCIA. Read here my comment on soil carbon projects:

“Soil is the world’s second-largest carbon sink and offers to play a pivotal role in addressing the looming climate crisis with a plethora of additional benefits to nature and society at large. But progress is not happening quickly enough; the private sector is eager to scale collaborative international action – today.”

Read the full article here:

carbonherald.com

New countries join carbon markets in favor of a green economic transition

frederick — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 13:44:32 +0000

For decades, carbon markets have been considered part of the solution to climate change. For the most part, they have been dominated by the private sector, but this will soon change. More than two-thirds of the world’s countries plan to use carbon markets to meet their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement. Countries such as Chile, Ghana, Jordan, Singapore, and Vanuatu are already building comprehensive digital infrastructure to support their participation in international carbon markets.

The future of carbon credits will enable the reduction or removal of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the atmosphere by switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy or increasing or conserving carbon stocks in ecosystems such as forests, providing an opportunity for countries to reduce their emissions and meet climate targets.

The carbon market: a new blueprint for the transition to a green economy

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is becoming increasingly urgent as countries around the world experience the intensifying impacts of climate change. “The pace of decarbonization and adaptation must accelerate, and carbon markets offer an option to offset the costs of moving away from fossil fuels and moving toward a green economic transition,” said Monali Ranade, senior energy specialist at the World Bank.

Carbon markets are necessary because they mobilize resources and lower costs to give countries and companies an opportunity to reduce their emissions. It is estimated that such trading could reduce the cost of implementing NDCs by more than half, to $250 billion by 2030.

Its digital infrastructure comprises monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems with emissions data and GHG emission reductions linked to national and international registries.

However, this market has yet to learn to deal with the imbalance between supply and demand and requires a digital infrastructure that keeps verified data secure and ensures accurate accounting and tracking. This is why at GreenTrade we address all market constraints by making long-term purchase rights (LTRs*) tradable, and advocate for high-integrity carbon credits through a robust and transparent market.

How decentralization and Web3 will impact the enterprise?

frederick — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 13:37:22 +0000

Web3 will soon become a vital focus for all our online systems. Some of its new features, such as cryptocurrency exchange and NFT, tokenization, and the use of blockchain, are just some of the most prominent developments.

It is a fact that the underlying Web3 technologies are here to stay. The goal is to bring decentralized and more autonomous infrastructures to foster a more user-controlled environment, where cryptocurrency can be combined with digital signatures in trusted transaction chains, and decentralized and collectively owned ledgers, such as blockchain to back them up.

A decentralized future

Decentralization is known as the notion that instead of centralizing Internet entities, ownership is distributed among their builders and users. The goal is a Web3 design that is inherently difficult to co-opt since the rules for radically distributed ownership are built directly into the Web3 architecture.

Thanks to Web3, companies can have a decentralized system in which much of the data important for managing a business will be in more private and protected places, stored in the blockchain and other types of ledgers. Applications will be similar to open source projects and run through smart contracts that everyone will be able to see, verify and accept transparently.

At this point, it is worth asking what technology underpins Web3 to become what it is. Most believe it is the blockchain, a technology that was developed by Bitcoin, as a new fundamental building block for the digital future. Others believe it is actually the same decentralization approach that blockchain has, leading to a contest over who will create the next software project that will run the future of the Internet.

In the meantime, GreenTrade is taking advantage of all these opportunities to apply an environmentally friendly approach by pursuing various investment projects and business models aimed at combating climate change, while preserving your privacy and optimizing your trading experience.

A new project favors the cultivation of sustainable forest carbon credits

frederick — Sun, 31 Jul 2022 16:45:14 +0000

Recently, a start-up company has created an online platform for European forest owners to become certified to sell carbon credits, encouraging owners to increase forest biodiversity and prepare forests for the future.

This project is highly relevant as climate change increases the risk of tree survival, leading to droughts, forest fires, diseases, and other extreme weather events. The main objective is to initiate sustainable forest management that generates additional carbon credits for the forests.

As a first step, the Pina Earth platform helps forest owners register their forests for carbon credits. It then supports landowners to make adaptations to their forests through a forest management service, such as planting climate-resilient tree species, which should, over the years, generate additional carbon credits. In the end, these are measures that will allow the forest to absorb more carbon.

The startup is using AI models to predict how climate change will affect future forest growth, combined with remote data capture to monitor client projects and verify forest improvements, to boost the quality of carbon credits.

Currently, nature-based solutions are more feasible and scalable than technical solutions when it comes to reducing CO2 in the atmosphere. Although there are many opinions about the carbon market, the truth is that this solution has gained more and more acceptance in less time, positioning itself as an excellent option over others.

At GreenTrade we support this type of initiative so that new offsetting projects can be carried out, while we train companies to comply with their Net Zero commitments. In addition, we connect price stability and supply assurance for companies so that they can access liquidity at an early stage and accelerate the growth of their carbon projects.

World’s first crypto water token: The combination of blockchain and climate change can have a real impact

frederick — Sun, 31 Jul 2022 15:46:39 +0000

H2O Water Securities has just created the first water token in the form of a cryptocurrency. The water network (H2ON) was created to fund projects worldwide that address the important issue of water scarcity.

Through a pooled fund, which has already accumulated close to $150 million, this South African company aims to transform the way water projects are financed globally using blockchain technology.

According to research by H2O Water Securities, more than 30% of the world’s population already “lives in water-scarce conditions” and, over the next eight years, the planet could suffer a catastrophe. The company wants to alter the narrative because it recognizes that a significant lack of project funding exacerbates the problem. The main objective of the H2ON currency, according to the company’s CEO Julius Steyn, is to finance natural projects beyond engineering and technical construction.

H2ON goes a step further by listing on a centralized market after previously listing on decentralized platforms. Steyn notes that H2ON had a volume of just $100,000 and was trading at $0.75 when it began trading on decentralized exchanges. However, within hours, the token’s value skyrocketed to $11 in less than a day, making it one of the fastest-growing tokens in the world.

According to the article, GEM Digital, the investment firm behind H2O Water Securities, will hold H2ON tokens to direct funding for water projects in places that lack the necessary infrastructure.

Undoubtedly, the use of blockchain technology in the fight against climate change has the potential to be very beneficial. In this case, a currency is being introduced to finance new businesses and attract a completely different clientele than the traditional one. So as we move closer to our goal of reducing CO2 emissions by one billion tons by 2030, we at GreenTrade are striving to incorporate blockchain technology and develop the potential for new decentralized financial products.

Green crypto: The most nature-friendly cryptocurrencies

frederick — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 00:12:26 +0000

Ethereum is close to a new Proof-of-Stake (PoS) upgrade, which means they will develop new crypto projects with a 99.95% decrease in power consumption. Here we leave you two of them:

Green crypto: Efinity

Efinity is a blockchain built on the Polkadot network. The network functions as a conventional NFT experience for developers, which runs at low cost and high speeds. It is known as an NFT highway, as opposed to a general computing blockchain.

The green nature of Polkadot is proving to be one of the most viable and carbon-conscious options, which is why we chose it as the destination for our NFT parachain: Efinity. Parachains do not require additional energy resources to operate, so Polkadot’s energy consumption remains 0.001% that of Bitcoin.

Efinity’s goal is to become a hub for both fungible and non-fungible assets, with a new token standard for compatibility across all networks.

Green Crypto: Nano

This cryptocurrency represents a departure from Bitcoin and Ethereum, as it works with its own blockchain, which is updated after transactions are executed. Subsequently, the ledger’s state is transferred to the Nano blockchain, integrating after confirmation from other Nano nodes. This whole procedure can be performed at a rather low or even zero cost, therefore, transactions on this chain are executed at no cost.

As for Nano’s energy consumption, Colin LeMahieu, founder and director of the Nano Foundation, says: “Nano has an energy footprint for 1 transaction of 0.00012kWh and an entire network that could run on a single wind turbine; to put this in perspective, that’s 15.5 million nano transactions using the same energy as a single bitcoin transaction.”

Blockchain is often criticized as negative for the climate as it produces too much CO2, but we see that, for example, with Ethereum’s PoS upgrade, energy consumption is reduced by 99.95% and will consume less than the traditional banking system. So no, blockchain is not bad per se and at GreenTrade we see the benefits of its use and it does not contradict our goals of fighting climate change.

In fact, one point to consider about green cryptos is that they are much more energy efficient than traditional ones, thanks to the use of a mining process that is not the solution to complex mathematical equations that require more energy, but the reduction of greenhouse gases.

The first biomass project backed by blockchain

frederick — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 15:36:21 +0000

Recently, Globacap announced a blockchain-based algae biomass project built from the Tezos energy efficiency network. Developed and operated by Sustainable Impact Token (SIT), the project will support the development, construction, and operation of algae biomass farms, using blockchain technology to bridge two of the fastest growing investor markets in the world: asset-backed finance and cryptocurrencies.

SIT’s algae biomass farms produce high-quality, non-animal proteins based on a system powered exclusively by renewable energy. These algae farms absorb large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere and are a net producer of renewable energy. The SIT Project is currently supporting the development of a trial algae biomass farm in Europe, using patented and sustainable technology.

The $5 billion algae biomass sector is estimated to grow at an annual growth rate of 6.3% over the next 5 years and the success of the project will provide the basis to expand globally. SIT provides investors with tokens issued through intelligent contracts deployed on the Tezos blockchain, which represent their preferred shares in the project. Carbon credits generated from algae production will also be tokenized in Algaecoin, a tokenized asset representing tradable carbon credits.

“By bringing agri-tech solutions and carbon credit-backed assets to private markets and beyond, we can take meaningful and impactful steps toward sustaining our planet for future generations,” added Myles Milston, CEO of Globacap

Blockchain technology allows previously illiquid investments to be traded efficiently in seconds, rather than weeks, with minimal overhead. The mission is to bring archaic capital market processes into the digital age by offering private placement, securities issuance, securities registry management, and liquidity products.

Like GreenTrade, this project seeks to protect the environment with the help of investments, encouraging participation in digital markets, and the use of renewable energy. While SIT presents a unique investment opportunity underpinned by food security and reducing the harmful effects of carbon, GreenTrade works hand in hand with technology to innovate in the carbon credit market, developing initiatives that offer investors attractive returns and new strategies to combat climate change and protect the planet.

Singapore supports a global initiative to boost carbon credit trading transparency

frederick — Tue, 05 Jul 2022 18:35:06 +0000

The World Bank has asked Singapore to join international efforts to make carbon credit trading more transparent and reliable. The government accepted the invitation to collaborate with the world bank on the Climate Warehouse initiative, which aims to connect global carbon credit registries.

During the United Nations COP26 climate change conference held in November last year, countries agreed on a framework that will allow nations to trade emissions reductions with each other to meet their climate targets under the Paris Agreement.

The decision made at the summit also allows the private sector to participate in global markets, investing in carbon reduction projects around the world and selling credits to other companies.

The project is now in the third phase of testing, which will last until August this year.

According to the World Bank spokesperson, who told the Times in an interview, “Given that Singapore is interested in becoming a carbon trading hub, and that an information system like the Climate Store can play an important role in providing a central infrastructure for well-functioning carbon markets, we approached the Singapore government to seek their interest in the implementation of the Climate Store.”

A new project to help stop climate change

Each carbon credit is equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide being removed from the atmosphere, or prevented from being produced. Credits can be purchased by an emitter elsewhere to offset its emissions.

However, to ensure that international carbon markets help the climate, credits should not be double-counted.

This means that countries trading carbon credits should not count savings based on their national targets, or sell the same credit to two different parties.

To address this, Singapore’s National Climate Change Secretariat said the Climate Warehouse could ensure transparency and reduce the risks of double-counting in fragmented international carbon markets.

According to Dirk Forrister: “The underlying data system must have high integrity, or companies will not have the confidence to invest on a large scale,” he said. He added that all countries trading emissions credits must have a registry to regulate transfers.

“Eventually, many countries will operate their own, or join international registries. The Warehouse will be open to any country that wants to participate, so long as it meets the key registry specifications that will be made available (to all).”

As a start-up project, it is important to invest in strategies to increase its credibility, so that many more private sector companies can invest in carbon credits to decarbonize their residual emissions.

With information from: Singapore Economic Development Board