5 Ways Blockchain Can Save The Environment and Reverse Climate Change

Climate change is one of the key threatening issues of our time, with far-reaching consequences in the twenty-first century.

Climate change will have unprecedented implications on where humans will settle, build cities, grow food, and rely on ecosystems functioning for the services they provide. In most places, temperatures have risen and sea-level rise is already putting ecosystems under increased stress and having adverse impact on human well-being.

Scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The current trends of warming are of particular significance because it is most likely (greater than 95 percent probability) a result of human activity starting from the mid-20th century and continuing at a rate that is being observed for the first time over decades to millennia.

Our planet’s average temperature has gone up by almost 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the end of 19th century, a approach driven hugely by increase in carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into our atmosphere. Most of this warming has occurred in the last 30 years, with five of the most warmest years on record coming after 2010. 2016 was the warmest year on record, with eight of the 12 months that make up a year — from January through September, with the only exception being that of June.

In order to have a Better Planet we have come up with couple of existing and new age blockchain use-cases that can help us repair some of the world’s major global environmental challenge.

When it is about utilising blockchain technology in order to reduce the major impacts of climate change, the irony is not new to me — it is not new that many iterations of this distributed ledger technology in use today are inherently energy-intensive. The entire logic of digital asset mining is built around deliberate expenditure of electrical power.

The base logic of this article is to bust the logic that, while currently this technology is in its infancy and thats the reason why it is inefficient, but future implementations of this technology could “dramatically improve operating efficiencies in some sectors while completely disrupting others” such as Climate change.

Energy

Traditional power grids have largely been centralised, which lead to inefficiencies in energy distribution, wastage in the form of unused surplus. And most parts of the world are affected by natural disasters or power outages which can leave people without any access to electricity.

Here a peer to peer energy system based on blockchain can help reduce the need to transmit electricity over large distances, which can help overcome losses on the way. This will also help reduce the need for energy storage, because such trading has the ability to transfer electricity locally from it’s point of excess production to where it is in deficiency.

Power plant installations across vast areas of land are expensive and often only financed by governments or large private institutions. A blockchain-based platform has the potential to enable companies and individuals to get instant returns by directly investing in renewable energy installations in the form of token investments in their nearby area or anywhere else around the world.

Carbon Tax

In the system used currently, it is difficult to determine the environmental impact of each product, and this price is not factored into its carbon footprint. This leaves little incentive for consumers to get lured and buy products with a significantly lower carbon footprint.

A blockchain-based system could could ensure each and every company’s product has a score that explains the carbon footprint of the products they sell. This would definitely make manufacturing of products more transparent, and ensure that wasteful products are discourage d to eradicate environmentally unfriendly practices.

Supply Chain Management

Blockchain can ensure products are tracked from the manufacturer till they reach the shelf and help prevent ineffciency, waste, fraud, and unethical practices by making supply chains transparent. This will make sure that consumers are better informed of each products manufacturing and shipping to make more environmentally friendly choices.

Recycling

Blockchain powered recycling program could encourage active participation in the form of a financial reward like a cryptographic token in return for depositing recyclables like plastic containers, bottles or cans. Similar setups are already prevalent in several parts of the world like in Northern Europe.

Non-profits

Blockchain technology can ensure that money intended to be a reward for conservation, or a payment to a specific cause, does not disappear into unintended pockets through bureaucratic labyrinths. Blockchain-based money could even be released automatically to the correct parties in response to meeting specific environmental targets.

Blockchains enable funds to be transferred without bank accounts — which is beneficial to people in countries that lack banking infrastructure. This means that it’s possible to send money directly to the people who need it without going through a complex web of middlemen or a centralised authority.

#Blockchain technology could help track that your charitable donations go where intended

Changing incentives

Blockchain technology can play a crucial role in helping both individuals and companies in checking the real impact of their actions and incentivise these to take the actions that can benefit our environment. Blockchain can transparently track varieties of data like the carbon footprint of each product, greenhouse gases or even waste emissions of any random polluting factory, or a company’s overall background of compliance to environmental standards. Companies and individuals can then be incentivised in order to act in an environmentally sustainable way through the availability of information, tokenised credits being issued for taking certain actions, or blockchain-based reputation systems.

These new incentives could completely change the drivers of our economy, and benefit not only us, but the future generations living on our planet.

For more information.

Visit: towardsblockchain.com