Blockchain x Climate (BxC) Launches at Davos

BxC brings together the most influential organizations in Web2 and Web3 to align, develop, and accelerate solutions on behalf of Planet Earth.

Davos, Switzerland - Amongst the world’s most influential financial institutions and policymakers and against the backdrop of the climate crisis, the Blockchain x Climate (BxC) has announced its organizational launch during GBBC’s 6th Annual Blockchain Central Davos - a premier gathering of leaders across the blockchain, digital asset, technology, NGO, and government sectors from January 15th-19th.

BxC is an activist-to-industry network of global stakeholders working together to define and author cooperative operating and technical principles that govern climate-related blockchain efforts across sectors, and support the development of scalable integration and interoperability projects that demonstrate the catalytic contribution blockchain technology can have on the climate crisis.

Founding and Supporting BxC Blockchain Partners include: Solana Foundation, Ripple, Climate Collective, and Regen Network.

The Network — led by Eqo Networks, Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC), and BxCi (Blockchain x Climate Infrastructure) — partners with organizations around the world to create the single largest common gathering of climate action innovators, leaders and builders under one global umbrella organization.

BxC key opportunities include:

• Establish trust and promote transparency across chains and sectors

• Develop climate-friendly business cases with common taxonomies, principles, and shared goals

• Launch new cross-chain and cross-sector projects and scalable industry pilots

• Aggregate best practices and publicly available resources that include white papers and open-source software code to drive credibility and continued growth. See GBBC’s IWA Resources page Interwork Alliance - Resources - Global Blockchain Business Council (gbbcouncil.org)

BxC aims to solve challenges blocking the next wave of blockchain and climate-based solutions such as siloed efforts in the blockchain and climate industries, Web 2’s misconceptions and lack understanding of blockchain, and scattered positioning when showcasing blockchain-related climate efforts to the public. 

Specifically, we address the following problems:

• Limited Action: There has been much discussion about climate change amongst the Web3 sector, but action is generally limited and isolated.

• Siloed Efforts: Similar goals are pursued by related but disparate projects, working groups, and coalitions, but with little coordination and communication.

• Disconnect Across Industries: Lack of technological and regulatory fluency is preventing the next scale of climate partnerships and collaborations.

• Web3 Friction: Friction arises when implementing new Web3 technologies despite innovative concepts and tools developed for climate action.

• Disparate Perspectives: At the moment, there is no unified Web3 perspective on climate to present to the world.

• Lack of Neutrality: Scarcity of trusted neutral parties to facilitate opportunities for Web3, Web2, NGOs, and activists to collaborate and innovate.

• Misconception of Blockchain: Often lumped in with the crypto industry, there are misconceptions surrounding Web3's potential for climate-related efforts.

• Public Perception: Despite its utility and real-world applications for climate action, the Web3 space is hindered by a negative public perception.

Existing BxC working groups focus on carbon market registries, standards and auditability, policy development, regenerative finance and emerging markets in the global south. Many of these projects are underway as proof of concepts or in fully implemented solutions and require a consistent taxonomy framework to scale. These working groups facilitate cross-chain and cross-industry fluency and create tangible, interoperable, and cross-functional blockchain solutions that bridge the gap between Web3, Web2, and non-profit / NGO organizations.

Here's what our working groups are tangibly doing to address those problems:

• Interchain Eco-benefits Alliance: Layer 1 interoperability across the ReFi system

• Fast Forward: Forward financing market for natural assets and climate impact

• Social: Common language, aligned values and co-creation of stories

• Standards and Auditability: Improve and evolve existing standards

• Carbon Market Registries: Market Dialogues Consortium + MVP Test (digital twins)

• Ecological Benefits: Visual taxonomy and shared language

• NGO Capacity-Building: Increase effectiveness of NGO environmental efforts

• Global South: Climate change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience solutions

Ken Weber VP, Social Impact & Sustainability at Ripple said: “Ripple is excited to partner with BxC and its members to develop the future of web3 enabled carbon and ecological benefits markets. We will be working closely with the network in 2023 to develop cross-chain technical principles and industry pilots.”

Amira Valliani, Policy Lead at the Solana Foundation, said: “We need all the tools we can bring to bear in the climate crisis, and everyone has a role to play. BxC is a rare space for activists and organizations to come together, roll up our sleeves, and collaborate on unexpected opportunities to make a difference. We're thrilled to be founding members of this one-of-a-kind coalition."

Anna Lerner, CEO of Climate Collective said: “Scaling demand and offering high quality supply of carbon and ecological credits requires liquidity and alignment of assets across chains. Without coordination and collaboration amongst key stakeholders we cannot effectively utilize the full functionality of web3 technology.”

Dave Ford, Partner and Founder of Eqo Networks said: “BxC will be the capacity building platform for climate-focused blockchain intervention, and for Fortune 500 companies to speed up their adoption of this technology. Creating optimal conditions for blockchain-powered applications such as carbon market trust and transparency, ESG monitoring and reporting, and supply chain tracking will accelerate progress against climate change.”

Sandra Ro, CEO of GBBC said: “There is a recognition that blockchain offers powerful new solutions to complicated climate challenges. GBBC agrees that for the many emerging solutions to grow, they must both solve real world problems and have the ability to work across multiple open-source technology platforms with a common language and standards to simplify implementations.”

Daniel Hwang, Strategic Advisor to BxCi said: “Blockchains and their associated cryptocurrencies can play a fundamental role in both supplementing and spearheading climate solutions. These blockchains' respective ecosystems of unique technology stacks are in need of a coordination layer to aid the necessary interoperability goals for crypto-based climate solutions to achieve their climate commitments. BxC is a necessary medium to achieve these goals.”

For more information on BxC, please visit our website www.bxc.network or email info@bxc.network

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About Our Organizations:

EQO

Eqo Networks (EQO) is an impact network group and environmental intelligence agency with a mission to align, develop and accelerate solutions on behalf of Planet Earth. In 2019, EQO founded Ocean Plastics Leadership Network (OPLN) activist-to-industry impact network connecting 400+ organizations worldwide. EQO founded BxC in August 2022 when blockchain leaders, institutional finance, NGOs and climate activists such as Greenpeace convened on the rapidly melting Greenland Ice Sheet to identify real world climate solutions.

GBBC

The Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC)  is the largest industry association for the blockchain technology and digital assets community. Launched in Davos in 2017, GBBC is a Swiss-based non-profit, with more than 500 institutional members, and 230 Ambassadors from more than 108 jurisdictions and disciplines. The organization is dedicated to furthering adoption of blockchain technology by convening regulators, business leaders, and global changemakers to foster collaboration and advance dialogue to create more secure, equitable, and functional societies.

BxCi

BxCi, (formerly Blockchain Infrastructure Carbon Offset Working Group (BICOWG)), gathers leading technologists and founders in web3 to develop pre-competitive collaboration opportunities at the intersection of crypto and climate. This braintrust has worked together to provide education, develop tooling, facilitate working groups, host forums and provide a clearinghouse for technology solutions and knowledge around crypto-climate issues.

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For more information, please contact:

[Dave Fortson], [Board Director], Blockchain x Climate (BxC)

[david@loalabs.io]