A few ways Web3 Has the Potential to Tackle Climate Change Climate change is one of the most important issues of our time — if not the most important issue. It’s already putting billions of lives at risk through natural disasters, unpredictable weather patterns, and the spread of infectious diseases.1 Left unchecked, climate change will lead to parts of the planet becoming uninhabitable, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).2
Climate change is one of the most important issues of our time — if not the most important issue. It’s already putting billions of lives at risk through natural disasters, unpredictable weather patterns, and the spread of infectious diseases.1 Left unchecked, climate change will lead to parts of the planet becoming uninhabitable, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).2
Many of us feel helpless in the face of this imminent doom. We know that climate change will have a massive impact on our lives and on the lives of our children; we know that it’s destroying our planet and we have nowhere else to go — and it’s heartbreaking to think that there’s nothing we can do about it.
The problems that have led to climate change have been accumulating through generations. Unfortunately, we don’t have generations to solve them: if we’re to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and prevent the dire scenarios that come with these higher temperatures, we have to cut emissions in half by 2030.
We know this is a challenging goal and you can start by supporting the 150+ climate projects on the Climate Solutions Cause Round.
To make any kind of meaningful impact, it’s necessary to engage the entire world in the fight against climate change. Only by involving everyone will we see lasting results. For this reason, accessibility is key in addressing our urgent climate crisis.
Web3 can provide us with an incredible opportunity to fund, build and accelerate these solar projects, by securing the financing they need. A particular benefit is the global nature of cryptocurrency. Since it is a borderless currency, it’s suitable for transactions in markets as widespread as Sudan and Chile to China and the North Pole.
Climate change is a global issue. And if you want to tackle a global issue, you need a global approach. And to take that global approach you should use a global currency. I think crypto has this incredible ability to reach all over the globe and fund these high impact projects no matter where they are. - William Skinner (HeliosDAO)
There are many opportunities to do something, especially in emerging markets. For instance, more solar installations could not only make a huge impact but also lead to big profits in places like India, Africa, and South America. Countries that invest in solar power by training solar technicians can create hundreds of jobs in the installation, repair, and maintenance of solar panels.3 The only thing preventing such projects from going ahead is a lack of funding from legacy financial institutions. In fact, this absence of financing means that billions of people in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia will continue to lack electricity and clean cooking in 2030, says Sustainable Energy for All.4
The good news is that with Gitcoin you can send funds directly to these projects and help fight climate change. Check out our Climate Solutions Cause Round and help us build a better world!
There’s a massive lack of transparency in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) markets today.5 But with the immutable ledger system of crypto, though, investments become transparent.
Crypto shows exactly where funds are at any given moment, allowing investors to directly track their impact. Investors can see everything from how much power they’re generating to the amount of CO2 emissions they’re helping to reduce. Through innovative monitoring methods, hardware, and oracles, all these data are streamed on the blockchain. This global transparency and level of clarity is an absolute game changer.
Crypto with its immutable ledger and global transparency has such an incredible opportunity to shine a spotlight and enable a very clear channel through which you can see exactly what your money is doing at every given moment, and really directly track your impact. When you unlock that level of clarity is just an absolute game changer. William Skinner (HeliosDAO)
For a long time, powerful forces with vested interests have been fighting to maintain the status quo. Their primary concern is to retain their own power, control, and influence — but this comes at a huge cost for the survival of our species.
Too often, we are putting all the power in the hands of a very small elite. And you know, that group of people has not led us to the solutions that are viable and are right in front of us. To me, the secret sauce is this idea of removing the middleman and putting more money directly in the hands of individuals on the ground. - Ben West (Climate Round Lead at Gitcoin)
This is becoming a reality. There are tons of amazing projects like The Solar Foundation, Make Change Possible, 7energy, VillageGrid, and many others that have decided to avoid all the politics and just get to work on their own communities.
Web3 is a rejection of the power of big banks and corrupt governments. It removes the middleman and puts more money directly in the hands of individuals on the ground.6 And most importantly, it’s a social movement where the masses can lead and contribute, so demands are not diluted nor “absorbed by institutional systems.”7
The Gitcoin Climate Solutions cause round enables communities to build and fund climate-related projects utilizing web3’s transparency, global engagement, and ability to eliminate the middleman to get money directly in the hands of the people doing the work.
Grants Round 15 takes place from Sept. 7-22, 2022, and you can learn more about the 150+ climate projects on the Climate Solutions Cause Round. We invite you to join our Climate Solutions community and take action to support the wide-variety of innovative projects working to address climate change around the world.
Also we invite you to check out these amazing collections of projects:
Clean energy and decentralized grids
Support for Indigenous communities and activists and innovators
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RESOURCES:
1- UN Human Security and Climate Change Policy Brief
2- Report: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
3- Solar Power for the poor - facts and figures
4- Lack of investment in clean energy compromising fight against climate change and poverty
5- Lack of transparency major barrier to further ESG adoption
6- Blockchain will eliminate middlemen and usher in a new paradigm
7- Digital activism in the context of social movements
- Team Gitcoin
Thank you to Eric, Armando, Ben, Umar, and Coleen for co-creating this piece.