Blockchain solutions for carbon markets are nearing maturity
OA Location
Author(s)
Sipthorpe, Adam
Brink, Sabine
Van Leeuwen, Tyler
Staffell, Iain
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Carbon markets could hasten climate change mitigation by driving investment towards efficient decarbonization activities, but they face problems around trust, transparency, and uptake. Blockchain offers a foundational technology upon which new carbon markets can be built which address these shortcomings. This sector is still nascent, fragmented, and clouded by technology hype, all of which obscures objective judgement of its performance and suitability. Here, we survey the current blockchain ecosystem, identifying 39 organizations that are developing blockchain solutions for carbon markets across four use cases: emissions-trading schemes, voluntary carbon markets, Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, and the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). We develop and apply a technology readiness level (TRL) scale, and we find that most projects are still proofs of concept (TRL ≤ 3); however, one system has now reached maturity (TRL 9). Addressing the common barriers that face developers could allow more blockchain solutions to mature and potentially facilitate globalized carbon markets with greater efficiency, transparency, and accessibility.
Date Issued
2022-07-15
Date Acceptance
2022-06-15
Citation
One Earth, 2022, 5 (7), pp.779-791
ISSN
2590-3330
Publisher
Cell Press
Start Page
779
End Page
791
Journal / Book Title
One Earth
Volume
5
Issue
7
Copyright Statement
ª 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Subjects
EMISSIONS
Environmental Sciences
Environmental Sciences & Ecology
Environmental Studies
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Science & Technology
Science & Technology - Other Topics
TECHNOLOGY
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2025-07-07