Making Sense of Web3*Climate #2
A weekly newsletter helping you understand the climate & crypto ecosystem
Welcome founders, investors, and generally passionate humans.
As promised, below is a variety of the news from our web3 world.
Curated Links & Summaries
Carbon Neutrality Requires Good Data — and Blockchain (8-minute read) by Kieren James-Lubin. Key points:
Current methods of measuring climate impact are based on perennially “faulty data.”
The challenge? “Accurately tracking emissions along the supply chain requires businesses to monitor a multitude of data sources spread across various sectors, organizations, and locations.”
By creating a clear source of information, blockchain is fit to address these information issues this decade. Everyone in the system has access to the data, simple software could search for human error, and no individual company can change it to suit themselves.
N.b. One of the best companies Aera Force has met in supply chain traceability is the Australia-based Fishcoin Project (which has operated since ~2017)
John Ellison at Toucan Protocol wrote this great guest piece on My Climate Journey’s blog. In it he broadly describes the web3 climate ecosystem:
“Crypto is bad for the planet” is a largely distracting or false statement
“There is a second and third generation of public blockchain networks that are built on very energy-efficient mechanisms, the most common being ‘Proof of Stake’… 99.95% more energy-efficient than Proof of Work.”
The fundamental technology is amazing for coordinating capital
“In the same way that the advent of the internet allowed for global communication of information, the evolution of digital currencies on public blockchains is enabling global coordination of capital flows that enables a myriad of actors to trust each other without intermediaries”
Web3 businesses can internalize negative externalities and manage common resources more effectively.
“Public blockchain ledgers allow for a level of transparency and accountability that enables a myriad of actors to trust each other and facilitate a unified global carbon marketplace.”
There is an ever growing universe of startups.
N.b. Ellison is creating this public directory. Meanwhile, we here at Aera feel like we’re witnessing an explosion of projects. Even before officially launching, dozens of talented founders are reaching out looking for support.
ESG as a Reverse Trojan Horse (5-minute read) — Bill Baue, a leader at the think tank r3.0, wrote this provocative LinkedIn series calling out common impact investment assumptions. It is well-written, even if the constructive suggestions come in his later posts.
While unrelated to web3, Baue raises important points for any investor working to generate both outsized returns and a flourishing future.
Ecosystem News
🌊 Diatom, a DAO focused on reducing ocean-based plastic waste, raised $1.95M in its Jan 20th pre-sale.
🍃 Regen Network, an early leader in climate blockchain solutions, awarded their community funding grants:
88 applicants applied requesting >$14M in USD & REGEN Token
42 funding award recipients selected
$1,540,100 in cash and $REGEN distributed
🏔️ The ReFi DAO grew to a ~200 person Discord since its launch last week. The community is composed of welcoming climate&crypto enthusiasts working to create educational onramps into the space and support systems for web3 climate founders.
🪨 Carbonfuture, a German company building a marketplace for “carbon removal you can trust”, raised $2.8M in seed funding
🏔️ May 10-11th, Rex St John is hosting the first #ReFi summit in Seattle. Expect an unconference focused on this intersection, with support from ecosystem leaders like Protocol Labs, Regen Network, Klima DAO, and Toucan Protocol.
Let me know if you have any feedback or specific web3*climate questions!
With Love,
Alex Filotimo
Creating a community investment system for a better climate
P.S. think I should meet a web3 climate company? I read every reply and would love to hear your recommendations.
P.P.S. if you’re a founder looking to raise funding, this is Aera Force’s project submission form.
None of this newsletter is intended as investment advice, please consider it for educational purposes only.