The Technology Innovation Institute (TII), a global scientific research centre based in Abu Dhabi, has launched a blockchain-powered carbon tracking and trading platform, which will facilitate international trade in carbon tokens.
The platform, designed by TII’s Cryptography Research Center (CRC) and announced at COP28, is aiming to drive green investment and accelerate the road to net zero emissions in alignment with UAE Vision 2021.
In a statement, TII said that unlike existing blockchain projects, the platform will allow tracking and trading activities to be verified publicly at little or no cost, either in carbon emissions or other resources.
The TII blockchain offers a verifiable multi-tenant, multi-transaction solution with public key infrastructure (PKI) permissioning built into its core design in addition to a high-security cryptographic stack. The blockchain features a consensus algorithm and a smart contract platform which are designed as pluggable components with integrated practical complex fault tolerance.
Dr. Ray O. Johnson, CEO, Technology Innovation Institute, said: “We are proud to announce this digitised tracking and trading platform at COP28, which represents the UAE’s drive to become a technology and innovation powerhouse and its commitment to leading the world’s climate action agenda. The UAE has provided the tool to ensure that trading can be done in confidence while mitigating human impact and maximising the benefits to the environment.”
How it works?
Source: TII
In contrast to digital carbon trading platforms, TII is said to be the first to implement a blockchain-enabled Proof of Concept as it continues to prepare the platform for global trading.
The platform will accurately track carbon emissions by registering the emissions from any worldwide public or private organisation. Auditors can then establish a chain of trust from emissions from capture to storage to trading. These audited transactions can be made transparent while keeping intact the privacy of the user – emitter, buyer, or third party, TII said.
TII’s new platform will allow for the creation of tokens that represent a quantity of carbon dioxide that has been removed from the environment. The token can then be stored and traded transparently and securely. The trade-in tokens are expected to create incentives to drive investment in green projects such as forestation and carbon capture, and allow entities to offset hard-to-decarbonise activities.
Specifically, a key benefit is the ability of blockchain to track and trace products throughout their supply chain journey, enable peer-to-peer energy trading, and create a transparent and immutable ledger of waste disposal and recycling activities. It can also help track water and forestry management efforts.
Dr. Najwa Aaraj, Chief Researcher at TII’s Cryptography Research Center (CRC), added: “This tracking and trading platform was designed by our talented team of international experts and allows large numbers of verified users to carry out carbon tracking and trading transactions in confidence. It protects the integrity of the transactions and the privacy of the user while ensuring auditability and transparency, making it a perfect tool for a new era of confident carbon trading
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