Cryptocarbon: the promises and pitfalls of forest protection on a blockchain

Howson, P ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3731-2775, Oakes, S, Baynham-Herd, Z and Swords, J, 2019. Cryptocarbon: the promises and pitfalls of forest protection on a blockchain. Geoforum, 100, pp. 1-9. ISSN 0016-7185

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Abstract

In this commentary, we explore how blockchain is being leveraged to address the fundamental problems with market-based forest protection globally. In doing so, we consider the ways ‘cryptocarbon’ initiatives are creating new challenges that have so far escaped critical scrutiny. A blockchain is a distributed and immutable electronic database – a ledger of every transaction that has ever taken place on a network, stored as cryptographically secured blocks, strung together in a chain. The technology is being increasingly hyped as applicable for a whole range of industries, social service provisions, and environmental management concerns. This includes the facilitation of natural asset market mechanisms, like Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). The original aim of REDD+ was to incentivise conservation, making tropical forests more valuable standing than cut down. Multiple factors, including lack of consumer interest, created an oversupply of carbon commodities. Ninety-five percent of the world’s avoided deforestation credits, representing millions of hectares of conserved forest, were stuck without a buyer. Several flagging REDD+ projects are now hoping that blockchain technology can carry them to new heights of market capitalisation. However, like with any powerful new technology, the benefits remain ambiguous.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Geoforum
Creators:	Howson, P., Oakes, S., Baynham-Herd, Z. and Swords, J.
Publisher:	Pergamon Press
Date:	March 2019
Volume:	100
ISSN:	0016-7185
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1016/j.geoforum.2019.02.011 DOI S001671851930051X Publisher Item Identifier
Divisions:	Schools > School of Arts and Humanities
Record created by:	Jonathan Gallacher
Date Added:	28 Feb 2019 14:45
Last Modified:	31 May 2021 15:06
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/35855

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