The World Economic Forum is launching a new Crypto Sustainability Coalition
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(Kitco News) – The World Economic Forum (WEF) has announced the launch of a new Crypto Sustainability Coalition, which will explore how Web3 and blockchain tools can be used to achieve positive climate action.
The Switzerland-based non-governmental organization unveiled the new coalition on Wednesday, outlining that it will include 30 partners at the intersection of sustainable development and web3, crypto and blockchain technologies, during a panel discussion titled “Web3’s Climate Impact.”
Members of the coalition will explore the potential positive impacts technologies such as blockchain, cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have on environmental and social agendas.
“The coalition launch is timely as there is an urgent need to support the decarbonization of cryptocurrency and ensure the industry is part of the climate solution,” Madeleine Hillyer, US media specialist for the WEF, said in a press release. “Additionally, there must be regulatory clarity that promotes web3 innovation, protects consumers and improves financial inclusion.”
To contribute to this work, the coalition will support research and development, share best practice and influence regulations related to climate-related matters.
The crypto industry as a whole is relatively energy intensive. Bitcoin alone has an annual carbon footprint equal to the country of Greece, and energy consumption equals that of the United Arab Emirates, according to the Digiconomist Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index.
The coalition will be divided into working groups that will focus on three main areas of interest: energy use, Web3’s potential for climate action and “On-chain” carbon credits.
The energy use group will analyze the crypto industry’s consumption of energy and materials to better understand the effect on climate and nature. The Web3 Working Group will “explore ways web3 innovations can address challenges facing the low-carbon transition at the pace required to achieve Paris Agreement goals.” The On-Chain Carbon Credits Working Group will explore the possibility of blockchain-based carbon credits to address the current failures of global carbon markets.
The list of partners joining this new endeavor includes Accenture, Avalanche, Avatree, CC Token, Circle, Climate Collective, Crypto Council for Innovation, Emerge, Energy Web Foundation, eToro, EY, Flowcarbon, Heifer International, KlimaDAO, Lukka, NEAR Foundation, Nori, PlanetWatch, Plastiks, Rainforest Partnership, Recykal, ReSeed, Ripple, Solana, Stellar Development Foundation, STEWARD, Sustainable Bitcoin Standard, The Global Brain, Toucan Protocol, University of Lisbon and Zero Labs.
The broader goal of the coalition is to “promote a broad education campaign about what web3’s potential and capabilities look like, to better inform governments about how to regulate these technologies and stimulate investment and research in their development,” the WEF said.
This new coalition was made possible by the Crypto Impact and Sustainability Accelerator (CISA), a grant-funded initiative launched by the Forum in January 2022 with a mission to encourage greater understanding of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) impacts of crypto. technologies.
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