Editor’s Note
This article examines the growing intersection of blockchain technology and carbon credit markets, highlighting both the potential for enhanced transparency and the ongoing debate surrounding this convergence.
As blockchain-based carbon credit trading markets continue to expand, debates are intensifying over the integration of cryptocurrency and carbon credits.
In fact, blockchain’s distributed ledger technology itself has been utilized across various industries to enhance transaction security and transparency. For example, JBS, the world’s largest meat processing company, developed a blockchain platform to track livestock supply chains as deforestation issues in its supply chain became severe. The global diamond company De Beers uses blockchain technology to trace the entire process of gemstone (mineral) mining, distribution, and production.
However, a movement has emerged in recent years suggesting that blockchain technology can solve problems such as the opaque carbon credit trading market and the difficulty of individual participation due to a system dominated by large corporations and governments. This is because using blockchain technology allows individuals or companies to directly buy and sell carbon reduction credits without the intervention of intermediaries. It is anticipated that the emergence of diverse players like individuals, companies, and governments in the carbon credit market will lead to a more active carbon trading market, naturally increasing incentives for carbon reduction.
The world’s first carbon-neutral crypto asset fund has also been launched.