The Open Forest Protocol will attend COP26
The Paris agreement was the most significant international climate conference in history. Nearly every country in the world (excluding Iraq, Iran, Libya, Yemen, and Eritrea) agreed to a concerted effort to keep emissions below 2°C of warming. In a departure from the Kyoto Protocol, signatories of the Paris Agreement are able to create their own nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to meet this goal. Updates on each nation’s NDCs are to be reevaluated every 5 years, making COP26, originally scheduled for 2020, a particularly consequential meeting.
There are a number of factors that set COP26 apart from the other 25 Conferences of the Parties. In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a special report outlining that keeping emissions to 2°C would not prevent some of the most damaging impacts of climate change, and that countries should rethink their NDCs to keep warming below 1.5°C. Whether or not countries are willing and able to make these changes will be made explicit in Glasgow.
The presence of the United States is another of COP26’s historical features. After signing the Paris Agreement under President Obama, the US pulled out of the agreement during the Trump administration, only to rejoin on the first day of President Biden’s term. In the wake of this flip-flopping, the Americans, responsible for 11% of global emissions, are hoping to convince the international community of their good faith effort to uphold their side of the bargain.
Why OFP is attending
Our attendance at COP26 is the most recent of a string of developments that have placed us at the forefront of forest-based climate initiatives. In April, the EU commission cited our protocol as a pioneer blockchain project in the realm of nature-based climate solutions. The authors of the report, titled Technology Focus on Blockchain specify that, using our blockchain system, “The Open [Forest] Protocol can usher in a new, more collaborative way of approaching the problem of climate change.” Our invitation to COP26 is indicative of the value the international community places on scalable tech solutions to nature-based solutions.
The visibility provided by the EU Commission empowered us to build our network of forest projects. In October, we officially announced our partnership with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). As a member of the official CIFOR delegation, OFP will be meeting with NGOs and independent forestation projects to share our solution.
We have also received some press on the technical side. We were recently showcased by our partner NEAR protocol, the layer one blockchain upon which we are building our solution. The article, austerely titled Open Forest Protocol Uses NEAR to Scale Forest-based Climate Solutions, has drawn attention from the larger community of environmental blockchain projects. At COP26, we will be sharing our decision to build on the world’s first carbon neutral blockchain. We will also be meeting with entrepreneurs in the GIS monitoring industry, whose groundbreaking technological developments have enabled our decentralized validation structure. OFP’s open source design places us in a unique position to collaborate with climate tech entrepreneurs from every sector. At COP26, we will build our network of technological integrators and discuss strategies for accelerating forest growth throughout the UN Decade of Restoration.
By attending COP26, OFP hopes to encourage the transition of the global climate movement into the web 3.0 space. Whether you are an investor looking to get involved with the carbon economy, a forest project in need of verifying your operation, or a technology integrator with a novel climate solution in mind, we want to hear from you. Visit the links below to get in touch.
About OFP
OFP is starting our stage 1 fundraise! Email jeremy@openforestprotocol.org to learn more.
To register your project, fill out our Project Operator Registration Form
Any other questions? Visit our website openforestprotocol.org and submit an inquiry
Going to COP26 and wish to schedule a meeting? Reach out to rado@openforestprotocol.org.
