| Hundreds of millions of farmers manage billions of tons of carbon stocks every day through their use of regenerative techniques, soil care efforts, protection of native vegetation, and the use of cover crops, among many other practices, yet they have been largely left out of the global carbon credit market. ReSeed, a U.S. startup. is using Web3 technologies to help farmers quantify, verify, and transform these previously ignored carbon stocks into financial assets that can help provide extra income, improving the lives of farmers and their communities (see the photo). By using of blockchain, an immutable digital ledger technology, ReSeed aims to introduces transparency and trust to carbon credits. It also collects data points about the farmers that span nine different U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, meaning corporates buying the carbon credits can prove that they are not only applying carbon offsets but also fulfilling social impact and corporate social responsibility objectives, says ReSeed co-founder Josh Knauer. The company says its approach also helps with supply chain stability – an issue corporates identify as a major problem – by ensuring small landholder farmers earn enough income to stay in business.
The U.S. startup is among a growing group of young companies harnessing Web3 technologies to fight climate change and promote inclusion through regenerative finance or ReFI. It is one of 30 companies, NGOs, and research organizations in a new Crypto Sustainability Coalition launched by the World Economic Forum which will investigate how Web3, which includes technologies like blockchains, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs , can be leveraged to reach climate objectives and for climate accounting. | 