Summary: The sensors to measure pollution levels linked to blockchain can not be falsified the results.

Full text:
Any news on the methods with which the technology which guarantees the bitcoin transactions can help the environment: an experiment taking place in China bodes well for the rest of the world

It is one of the most promising technologies of the future and not a day goes by that someone signs a novel use, with the result that blockchain, born as the bitcoin safety net, is now a kind of technological mat. From tracing the food to the possibility of using it to enter into intelligent contracts, the list of functions already credited to this technology is long. And for some time we also talk of using it to combat air pollution. Recently he did Arun Ghosh, of blockchain expert KPMG, US giant accounting, according to which the blockchain together to the internet of things could finally bring order to cumbersome management of CO2 emissions offset. The argument, explained in an interview, had all the papers in order to break even at the last forum in Davos.

The blockchain - which, remember, is a distributed database continuously updated and verified by its users, thus tamper-proof - it would be useful to store the data collected by sensors that monitor air or water pollution, managing at the same time the compensation automatic through the smart contract: a tot tot emissions compensation, without the possibility that a small hand intervenes to change the cards on the table. Interesting, and not just on paper similar projects, involving the use of blockchain to improve the system of so-called carbon credits transactions, see it at work by industry giants to innovative start-ups.

Possibly the best known is that of IBM, which with Energy Blockchain Labs has created an efficient and transparent blockchain platform that enables high-emission organizations to monitor their carbon footprint and buy credits that serve to balance emissions. According to IBM, its adoption could result in 10 months in a reduction of 20-50% in emissions. The experiment is now underway in China, accounting for about a quarter of global carbon dioxide emissions. But Cao Yin, founder of Energy Lab, says that may soon be extended to the rest of the world: "We want to create a new energy ecosystem for the people of the people. We want to produce a different kind of green energy, much cheaper around the world, not just in China. "

Another innovative project sees the field in the American startup Nori, about to launch an open platform based on blockchain to offset CO2 emissions. In this case, the novelty is that companies that adopt will reset their carbon footprint by purchasing credits to offset emissions using a cryptocurrency: for each ton of CO2 removed will be assigned a Nori, ie a sort of bitcoin it intended to increase value in the future carbon market based on supply-demand certificate.

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Thus, according to the developers it will be easy to establish a unique reference global price for carbon dioxide: a ton would be always and everywhere a Nori. And, into the bargain, carbon dioxide from the waste product would become of value generator. The proceeds - removed the commission of 10% - it would be used to finance the farmers participating in regenerative agriculture programs, which aims to increase the ability of soil to retain CO2.

Will it work? As an emerging and disruptive technology, the full potential of blockchain can not be predicted with certainty. But clearly, in a messy world in which various parts - north and south, financiers and actuators, polluters and those who suffer the damages of climate change - are fighting each other, only systems that generate trust, as blockchain, they can lay the foundations for a shared solution.

From Wired