PreciDatos: A Blockchain-based System for Incentivizing Actors to Disclose Accurate Climate Data

An illustration showing the workflow of data collection, processing, and analysis for climate commitments made by cities, regions, companies, and investors. Our proposed system, utilizing zero-knowledge proofs and a blockchain staking mechanism, will address some of the pain points within this complex ecosystem. Diagram by Data-Driven EnviroLab.

Cities, states and regions, companies, and investors play a critical role in meeting the urgent need to reduce emissions and transition to a decarbonized society and economy. They are directly taking climate actions by setting their own emissions reduction targets, establishing their own renewable energy targets, and committing to ambitious goals like striving for net-zero emissions by mid-century. Data is crucial for tracking these voluntary commitments by these actors. It can help us understand what actors’ climate commitments are and whether they are following through, thereby providing accountability and preventing greenwashing. However, tracking climate data remains challenging — it is costly, inefficient, and inconsistent. Distributed ledger technology could provide the infrastructure necessary to tackle these challenges. We propose a blockchain-based data reporting system that economically incentivizes actors to disclose accurate data using zero-knowledge proofs and a staking mechanism. The system may be further extended to include homomorphic encryption and Natural Language Processing (NLP) modules for greater privacy and more efficient data preprocessing. Read the full solution here.