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Blockchain As a Decentralizing Technology Platform To Accelerate Climate Action

Blockchain as a decentralizing technology platform to accelerate climate action

Rooftop PV panels (left) and the seawater cooling system at the UN city (right) in Copenhagen.

The UNEP DTU Partnership, in close collaboration with TIM TU Berlin, is generating cutting-edge research on blockchain innovation for accelerating global climate action.

There are three main application areas for technology innovation in the climate realm
(see brochure for more information):

Together with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), World Bank, and the Blockchain for Climate Foundation, we conducted a Webinar on Blockchain for Climate. This webinar sought to jointly develop a more nuanced understanding of the technology's potential and inform decision makers on the application of a DLT/blockchain solution to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

Transparency & Carbon Markets

Currently, UNEP DTU Partnership is supporting the development of the World Bank Climate Warehouse. This collaboration is informed by recent academic publications that outline how blockchain could address current carbon market and transparency limitations:

Sustainability Journal: Designing a Blockchain Model for the Paris Agreement's Carbon Market Mechanism
Sustainability Journal: Blockchain Application for the Paris Agreement Carbon Market Mechanism—A Decision Framework and Architecture
Policy Brief: Carbon Market Challenges and Blockchain Solutions

In this context, the partnership is using its network for country consultations for a bottom-up and co-creative process to develop innovative Paris Agreement transparency and carbon market designs.

In addition, UNEP DTU Partnership is collaborating with the IT University of Copenhagen on developing a Distributed Ledger System for Enforcing CO₂ Emission Monitoring on European Roads, as outlined by the EU Commission.

Climate Finance

Developing business models for low carbon technologies in developing countries, UNEP DTU experts published a working paper for the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI): Blockchain and Tokenized Securities: The Potential for Green Finance.

A summary of the publication is also available as a ADBI podcast: How blockchain could revolutionize green finance in Asia.

Clean Energy

UNEP DTU experts analysed the potential for a blockchain application towards different energy efficiency use cases in a recent publication: "How Can Blockchain Technology Accelerate Energy Efficiency Interventions? A Use Case Comparison"

UNEP DTU Partnership has also co-authored a blog post for United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific UNESCAP on “How Can Blockchain Accelerate the SDG7 Implementation?”

TEAM

Marco Schletz

Gabriela Prata Dias

Myung Kyoon Lee

Ana Cardoso

TU Berlin, Sören Salomo (Collaboration Partner)

Laura Franke (now at Microsoft)

Elaine Guzmán

RESOURCES

Our Publications

Schletz, M., Franke, L. and Salomo, S. (2020) 'Blockchain Application for the Paris Agreement Carbon Market Mechanism – A Decision Framework and Architecture', Sustainability, 12(5069): 1-17. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12125069.
Schletz, M., Nassiry, D. and Lee, M.-K. (2020) 'Blockchain and Tokenized Securities: The Potential for Green Finance'. Asian Development Bank Institute. Tokyo, Japan. Available at: https://www.adb.org/publications/blockchain-tokenized-securities-potential-green-finance.
Franke, L., Schletz, M. and Salomo, S. (2020) 'Designing a Blockchain Model for the Paris Agreement's Carbon Market Mechanism', Sustainability, 12(1068): 1-20. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12031068.
Schletz, M., Cardoso, A., Dias, G. P., & Salomo, S. (2020). How can blockchain technology accelerate energy efficiency interventions? A case comparison. Energies. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13225869