Climate change is one of the biggest long-term threats that the current generation faces. It is also one of those threats with a very long-term impact not just on individuals or societies, but on humanity as a whole. It is no wonder that people need to marshal all the resources they can to help solve this for the future generations. The current path we’re on isn’t sustainable. The data is clear and unambiguous.

So why don’t we do something about it, if everyone agrees it is a big problem? It is because solving climate change generally requires a sacrifice. Those of us in the developed world consume and emit way more carbon that the rest of the world. Meanwhile, the rest of the world aspires to the standards of the developed world. If we are not to go down this road, people will need to make sacrifices. No one wants to voluntarily lower their standard of living. It’s a deadlock. No wonder nothing substantial gets done, other than the feel-good pats on the back people give themselves for extremely trivial ‘achievements’ in reducing emissions.

The Way Forward

Then what’s the way forward? We need to consider incentives. People will not voluntarily cut emissions, but they can be incentivized to do so. This is a powerful idea that economists have been advocating for a long time anyway. However, the question is, where does this extra reward come from? The usual answer is governments, but we all know the kind of dysfunction that happens there especially in today’s world. Combine that with the political inclinations of the party in power in the world’s largest economy and all of a sudden the prospects don’t look so good.

So what’s a good free market solution to this, and can crypto really help? The answer lies in carbon credits, and it can indeed be implemented on the blockchain. The idea is to reward people for using cleaner energy sources and punish people for using the dirtier sources like coal.

And that’s exactly what a company called Zero Carbon is trying to do – carbon credits on the blockchain to help with reducing emissions on the planet.  They accomplish this with the help of their native token – Energis Token. The way it works is simple – if you’re an energy provider and you use clean energy as part of the system, you get rewarded. Otherwise, you pay a penalty.

The energy suppliers may want to buy Energis Token to manage demand and have the ability to use fossil fuels sometimes. Why? Because we’re not yet at the point where renewables are as reliable as traditional fuels. This is like a ‘bridge’ solution, but it works.

Energis token is a neat attempt at mimicking carbon credits on the blockchain. Let’s see if it works in the marketplace.

If you’re interested to learn more, check out their website and whitepaper.