Cosmos ZERO: A Cosmos Ecosystem Carbon Neutral Quest

Protocols and validators are invited on a climate impact quest to make Cosmos a carbon-neutral blockchain ecosystem

Regen Network

Published in

Regen Network

4 min readNov 16, 2022

Can you reach net-zero, Cosmonaut?

You’re invited on a bold mission to make Cosmos a carbon-neutral blockchain ecosystem. Led by Regen Network and the Interchain Foundation, Cosmos protocols and validators are called on to take accountability for their carbon footprint and achieve net-zero carbon emissions for their network validator node infrastructure and operations.

By each sovereign chain and validator doing their part to scale climate action, we can come together as the interchain community and meet the urgency of climate change!

Cosmos ZERO in action

Join the ranks of Cosmos validators like Chorus One, Stakin, Stakely, and chains who have already completed the Cosmos ZERO quest! View the proposals passed by the IXO, Osmosis, Cheqd, and Stargaze communities earlier this year.

Join the quest

The Cosmos ZERO initiative invites Cosmos protocol and validator communities on a mission to activate their governance community and offset their carbon footprint to achieve carbon zero via their community spend pool. Additionally, it encourages protocols to maintain carbon-neutral by committing to re-evaluating and offsetting their carbon footprint over time.

Ready to get started on your Cosmos ZERO quest? Follow the journey below and advance through each level to complete the mission.

LEVEL 1 — Calculate your protocol or validator operations carbon footprint

PROTOCOL CARBON FOOTPRINT

Get started on your carbon-neutral journey by finding out what your protocol’s carbon footprint is. You can find pre-calculated Cosmos Protocol Carbon Footprint Estimates here! These estimates, developed by Regen Network validators, are calculated using worst-case scenario validator footprint estimates and multiplying them by the protocol’s validator set.

If you don’t see the project you’re looking for on this list, shoot us a message on our Cosmos ZERO official Telegram group to get your protocol’s carbon footprint estimate added.

VALIDATOR CARBON FOOTPRINT

Calculate your validator’s footprint by using the open-source Carbon Footprint Calculator developed by Regen Network Development and published open-source by BICOWG. Or, use the default assumption of Cosmos ZERO, a maximum of 25 tons/year validator carbon footprint.

LEVEL 2 — Submit a carbon-neutral governance proposal

Note: If you are offsetting a validator carbon footprint, advance to level 3.

The Cosmos ZERO guide provides Governance Proposal Templates that can be used to frame initial community discussions in Commonwealth and adapted for a community spending proposal. The document requires the protocol name, footprint in tons, and spend request in native tokens.

Need support? Don’t hesitate to reach out for one-on-one assistance on our Cosmos ZERO official Telegram group chat.

LEVEL 3 — Offset your protocol or validator node’s carbon footprint

If you are offsetting at a protocol-level, once the governance proposal has passed you are now ready to purchase ecocredits and offset your carbon footprint via credit retirement. See our Cosmos ZERO guide for our recommended ecocredit portfolio.

This winter, Nature Carbon Ton (NCT) will launch on Osmosis DEX establishing a new ecological asset class in the Cosmos ecosystem via NCT:REGEN and NCT:OSMO pools! This will bring carbon liquidity to the Interchain community for the first time.

The suite of ecocredits available on Regen Marketplace, Urban Forest Carbon Credit Class from City Forest Credits registry, adhere to the USA national credit standard to preserve threatened forests on the edge of urban areas and urban tree planting programs in cities across the United States.

Stay tuned for NCT guides coming this winter! Find guides for purchasing and retiring ecocredits through the Regen Marketplace by following the links below:

How to Buy Ecocredits on Regen Marketplace Guide

How to Retire Ecocredits on Regen Marketplace Guide