deCarbonized #29: Blockchain energy use and climate action; VCM responses to John Oliver skit

Verra and others respond to John Oliver's inaccurate portrayal of carbon markets

There was an understandably frustrated reaction to John Oliver's recent takedown of Carbon Market practices, and a number of VCM players have weighed in to give their take on why it was misrepresented.

Verra's response has some useful examples of where the data cited in the piece was inaccurate, as well as not taking into account the bigger picture of a market that has multiple interdependencies. Essentially, it's a lot more complex than he made out, and they would have liked to have been asked to comment as part of the research his production team compiled.

Aspiration took a more playful approach in arguing that while he wasn't wrong, he also wasn't right. A few bad apples doesn't make a rotten orchard. While they concede a lot needs to be done to improve the quality and integrity of the market, good work is still happening and while the VCM isn't a silver bullet for net-zero, it's playing a vital role.

Richard Hopp makes a pragmatic argument that we should not make perfect the enemy of the good. The system isn't perfect but has made a lot of headway with capital allocation which has funded impactful projects. With better monitoring and validation, this has the potential to continue to improve.

What all this boils down to is the need for greater transparency and trust in the systems. Web3 has the potential to provide this, but only if we can get past the mentality that unless a solution is perfect from inception, it is doomed to fail.

📢 Top news picks

• Major Bank ANZ supports leading role for tokenised carbon markets in Australia
• UBS signs a 10-year carbon capture deal with Climeworks to remove 39,500 tonnes of CO2
• Small-scale forest landowners gain foothold in US carbon markets, unlocking new revenue streams
• Southpole to use Carbonfuture's digital monitoring technology to scale biochar project deployment

💵 If you’re a VC or interested in more investment news, check out the web3 for climate newsletter

⛓ Market action

Fortnightly carbon stats

Toucan Protocol is building carbon market infrastructure to finance the world's best climate solutions. These are our on-chain stats from 23.08- 05.09.22:

Carbon prices as of 05.09.22, with 14 day change:

BCT -  $1.66  (-7.78%) |   NCT -  $2.11  (-8.26%)

GEO -  $3.86  (-6.76%)  |  NGEO -  $8.47  (-2.64%)  |  EU-ETS -  $73.94 (-20.88%)

🐦 Want to learn more about tokenized carbon? Check out our short summary of common myths and follow us on LinkedIn

🌟 Blog feature

Can blockchain be good for the climate? 🗻

Those working in climate often associate blockchain with the excessive amounts of energy used by Bitcoin. Indeed, this issue continues to steal headlines and railroad conversations about the potential of blockchain to unlock new solutions for climate action.

There is however growing acknowledgement of and support for blockchain solutions from key global institutions. The World Bank for example, identify blockchain as a key tool in the development of effective climate markets, tackling aspects of integrity, transparency, inclusiveness, cost effectiveness and scalability.

Our latest post explores issues associated with blockchain energy use and how this can be overcome to ensure that climate action and blockchain go hand-in-hand. We cover:

• Why does Bitcoin use so much power? ⚡
• Low carbon options 💚
• Bringing climate action on-chain: Polygon and Celo 💡

Find the full piece here and enjoy! 🌞

🐦 We'll dive deeper into this on our Twitter Space on Wednesday, August 7! Set a reminder and tune in!

Could you be the next deCarbonized Guest Writer?

We want to hear from you!

• Passionate about the VCM, ReFi, web3 or carbon tech?
• Enjoy writing posts that help people understand these topics more deeply?
• Have an eye for communicating exciting news and updates?

Over the coming weeks, we will be extending the opportunity to produce deCarbonized to our community members while current editor @DrHolWat is off on maternity leave 👶

This is a great opportunity to develop and share your work, connect with Toucan's audience and work flexibly to create something exciting! ✨

To say hello and find out more, drop an email to: anna.morrogh@toucan.earth
...or slip into our DMs: @ToucanProtocol

💼 Jobs board

• Founding Engineer, Spirals - US remote
• Global VP of Bioproduction, Loam Bio - Portland US
• Agriculture Innovation Strategy Manager, The Nature Conservancy - US remote
• Forestry Carbon Project Consultant, Strive by Vertis - Madrid, Spain

🌳 Hot in web3

Senken teams up with Allcot to investigate on-chain services for improved climate impact

Senken — an on-chain carbon credit marketplace — is partnering with project developer Allcot.

Allcot has developed 59 projects in 16 countries that collectively generate 17 million carbon credits per year. They are excited to partner with Senken to explore modern solutions that establish transparency as the foundation for high-value, high-integrity carbon markets, using new technologies such as blockchain and digital MRV.

Read the full story

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