By Francisco Benedito,

 Co-Founder, Climate Blockchain

Countries across continents have been accelerating their efforts to

pass key policies that are aligned with the implementation of the

Paris Agreement. Already, many nations have begun their

decarbonization efforts and are about to become carbon neutral, which

reflect their seriousness to live up to their commitment to build a

carbon-free world for their citizens and the people around the world.

Undoubtedly, as we race against time to achieve sustainable

development, carbon emission is going to be the reference point for

everything in the next 30 years. Today, governments are already

preparing to execute mandatory regulations in their respective

territories so as to make sure that both public and private sector

entities toe the line when it comes to reducing their carbon footprint

across different scopes of their activities and operations.

Next-generation technology is going to remain at the core of the

carbon footprint reduction efforts for many organizations. Modern

tools will be the key for companies and organizations to increase

their efficiency without further harming the environment.

It is no surprise then that several institutions have already begun

investing in solar and biomass power plants, renewable projects,

carbon capturing, smart meters, and many other innovative projects

designed to promote efficient and sustainable use of resources and

protect our natural surroundings.

These technologies have emerged as of late in the midst of mounting

sustainability calls and rising global movement towards combating

climate change.  Smart meters, for one, enable substantial energy

savings, while modern innovative tools promoting efficient use of

water have been developed as well.

An example of an entity involved in green technology is Swiss

cleantech company Climeworks. In partnership with Reykjavik Energy,

Climeworks has developed a technology capable of directly capturing

carbon dioxide from ambient air for permanent storage underground as

per the description in the company’s website.  This innovative

technology serves as a carbon removal solution, which is a huge stride

in the ongoing global efforts to reverse the effects of climate

change.

In a bid to contribute to the international sustainability efforts,

Swedish company Eco Wave Power has also developed its own green

technology.  The organization created a patented, smart, and

cost-efficient technology designed to turn ocean and sea waves into

green electricity.

Carbon trading has also emerged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Carbon credits marketplace provides organisations and consumers a

single platform for carbon offsetting. Using blockchain technology,

fintech company ClimateTrade, for instance, has built a platform where

companies and consumers can offset their carbon footprint through

investment in environmental projects as well as disruptive

technologies developed to tackle the impact of climate change. One of

the leading companies that sells its credits through ClimateTrade is

Co2 Revolution.

Co2 Revolution is at the forefront of promoting drone-powered

reforestation, an approach that aims to address the problem of

deforestation. Through tree-planting drones, we can now reforest

extensive areas in a fraction of the time that it takes if we do it

manually.

On the issue of finite water supply, one of the biggest problems in

the next few years is going to be the lack of pure water to drink and

supply for irrigation, to name a few. We will have high shortages in

some countries and most of the supply will not be fit for consumption.

There is one company using artificial intelligence (AI) to find

sources of water under the soil. WaterQuest is an eco-conscious

socially responsible company established in 2015 based on AI-driven

virtual prospecting program. The company deploys its technology to

map, identify, develop, and manage decentralized, sustainable

self-recharging perennial groundwater sources. It employs AI’s

data-driven methods to model and forecast non-linear hydrological

processes, in addition to handling large amounts of dynamicity and

noise concealed in datasets.

These are just some of the examples of the rising number of

organisations across sectors that have been fully harnessing the power

of technologies to help fast-track the global community’s transition

to a green economy and ensure its path towards sustainable

development.

Admittedly, much still needs to be done in our shift to a green

economy. Concerted efforts should be consistently implemented in this

department to have a prosperous future without harming the planet. To

discuss more on this, let’s meet at the World Green Economy Summit

(WGES) 2019, which will take place on October 20th and 21st at the

Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.