Blockchain: An Unorthodox Solution to Reduce Global Warming

Abstract

Global warming is likely to have unimaginable disruptions in every aspect of human life by 2050 if some actions are not taken immediately to reduce its fast acceleration. Since the Industrial Revolution (1900s), the global mean surface temperature has warmed up approximately +0.8 °C (1.4 °F) due to past and ongoing human-induced emissions of greenhouse gasses as a result of burning of fossil fuels. Scientists and environmentalists warn that if nothing is done in the next decade to deal with climate changes, the global warming may accelerate to around 1.5 °C by 2050, which may lead to climate changes with catastrophic consequences. Blockchain is not confined to cryptocurrencies and can help reduce current levels of human-produced carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide resulting from activities involving factory farming, livestock farming, and deforestation which are releasing huge amounts of greenhouse gases that suffocate the atmosphere. This paper looks at blockchain and the planet by examining how a wide range of opportunities offered by this revolutionary technology could be harnessed to address global warming challenges.