Finance & Investment

New Blockchain-Based System Aims to Supercharge $200B+ Climate Finance Markets

Climate Futures’ 1PLANET Marketplace will launch during Earth Month as a blockchain-enabled, decentralized app (dapp) designed to help users do their part to mitigate the climate crisis — and keep it top of mind during COVID-19 hysteria.

Published 4 years ago | About a 3 minute read

Image: Christiann Koepke/Unsplash

Carbon-reduction experts Climate Futures will launch their 1PLANET Marketplace — a ready-to-use blockchain system and dapp (decentralized app) powered by the 1PLANET (1PL) token — in April, otherwise known as Earth Month. 1PLANET enables individuals and businesses to take action against climate change by granting easy and transparent access to carbon markets.

Carbon markets, used to finance sustainability projects around the world, last year were estimated to be worth $214 billion, a 34 percent growth from 2018.Carbon credits — the digital commodity that represents reductions in CO2 emissions — are a proven and globally recognized solution for pricing and reducing carbon emissions, but historically have been only traded and used by governments and large corporations. Adding to the growing list of blockchain solutions that enable businesses, governments and individuals alike to take an active role in reducing their carbon footprint, 1PLANET democratizes access to global carbon markets by tokenizing carbon credits: 1PLANET users can offset their daily carbon emissions through support of more sustainable businesses, and having access to a more transparent and verifiable carbon-offsetting service.

“Most people now understand that climate change is an existential threat. Despite this knowledge, most people are left with the question of ‘what can I really do about climate change?’” said Jesse Uzzell, CEO and founder of Climate Futures. “It’s great that corporations like Amazon and Microsoft are now committing to reduce their carbon emissions, but … how can people and smaller enterprises, which represent half the economy, take action and engage in the fight against the climate crisis when they don’t have the same resources available? We created the 1PLANET Marketplace to be the answer.”

1PLANET is designed for e-commerce and real-time transactional offsetting. Some initial business partners include:

Ultra Music Festival, one of the world’s largest electronic music festivals, is using 1PLANET develop its pilot carbon-offsetting program
Peace Boat, an international NGO that provides educational cruises around the world, partnered with Climate Futures to provide its customers and event partners a carbon-offsetting service.
Pildora, a global sustainable fashion retail marketplace, is using 1PLANET to create climate-friendly shipping options for its customers.

Uzzell and his team hope the growing arsenal of tools equipping us to minimize our daily environmental impacts will help keep the urgency of the climate crisis top of mind, even as the COVID-19 pandemic takes center stage and many parts of the economy grind to a halt.

"While governments around the globe allocate capital and human resources to mitigating the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus, global temperatures continue to rise, jeopardizing humanity’s very existence. Despite the hysteria created by the immediacy of COVID-19, the climate crisis remains the greatest existential threat to the planet,” Uzzell told Sustainable Brands™ in a recent email. “Experts warn the spread of infectious diseases like malaria could expand to new regions due to climate change, and heat-related health concerns will be exacerbated. Our goal with the 1PLANET dapp is to keep the climate crisis top of mind, and make it incredibly easy for people and businesses to take steps to reduce carbon emissions and safeguard our future.”