Leveraging Web 3:0 to promote climate resilience programs
World leaders are congregating in Egypt for the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) to seek out global solutions to climate change through conversations, commitments, and sharing of innovative solutions. As they do so, this global problem also requires Countries, individuals, and industries to step up and find ways to mitigate climate change in their respective capacities. One of these industries is Web 3:0 at the forefront with innovative solutions to conserve, restore and improve land management actions that increase carbon emissions.
But first, what are the chilling climate change facts?
According to World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the global average temperature in 2019 was 1.1 degrees celsius which was also the second hottest year on record. The consequence of this is changes in weather patterns such as drought, storms, heat waves, rising sea levels, warm oceans, and melting glaciers. Over 1 million animal species risk extinction as a result of climate change while 85% of the world’s population is already being affected by human-driven climate change.
The relationship between climate change and poverty is a vicious cycle with one leading to another. The world’s poorest countries are on the most receiving ends as they are hit first and hardest. In fact, it has been estimated that 100 million people living in developing countries could be pushed into poverty by climate change by 2030.
Despite the impacts of global warming being termed irreversible by the UN, we can limit and reduce the rate of rising temperatures by reducing our carbon footprint and investing in mitigation efforts.
Web 3:0 and climate change
Web 3:0 and in particular blockchain technology had a bad rap in the past due to its carbon footprint when mining Bitcoin and Ethereum but in a big Web 3:0 ecosystem also lies solutions. As the technology continues to expand so does its multiple use case. The tool that was seen as a hazard to the environment is also being used to protect the endangered environment.
More organizations and innovators are leveraging Web 3:0 with a keen focus on climate change solutions, conservation, and Regenerative Finance (ReFI). As a way to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change, especially on developing countries, Web 3:0 companies such as Kotani Pay are stepping up and using their technology to create use cases to help in climate-resilience programs. Here are 3 programs that Kotani Pay is offering a last mile payout solution with an aim of protecting and conserving our environment.
- Parametric insurance policy using blockchain
Farmers across the world have felt the pain of climate change as they watch their hard-earned investments and labor being destroyed by floods and droughts. These farmers have to deal with the stress of uncertain weather patterns and outcomes of every planting season.
Through the Lemonade Crypto Climate Coalition(LCCC), farmers such as Eunice can rest easy knowing they are covered. In the first-of-its-kind parametric insurance policy powered by blockchain technology, farmers can insure their crops with as little as $1 for an agreed period. How does it work? A farmer in this case Eunice chooses to insure her maize from crop failure. She will first dial the Kotani Pay USSD code and deposits her fiat to their Kotani Pay wallet. This will trigger Kotani Pay’s Escrow account to convert her fiat to digital assets that are then registered and stored to the Etherisk-lemonade smart contract running on Avalanche. In the case that her crops actually fail, Eunice can claim her funds by dialing the Kotani Pay withdrawal option which will trigger the Kotani Pay Escrow account that triggers the smart contract to release Eunice’s digital assets that will be converted into fiat and deposit in her Kotani Pay wallet for withdrawal.
2. Fund a tree
A sure way to minimize the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere is by using a natural remedy, trees. According to the Arbor Day Foundation, a mature tree can absorb more than 48 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in 1 year and release oxygen in exchange.
This can be seen by Treejer, an open protocol that uses smart contracts, DeFi, and NFTs connecting funders to rural planters worldwide. The transparent and bankless bridge between people who care about the environment to farmers planting these trees is empowering local communities while actively protecting the environment.
Kotani Pay is enabling this program by offering a last-mile payout for the farmers. In this case, a donor simply sends digital assets to the protocol to fund a tree, and the hired Treejer farmers plant the tree and are paid using the digital assets sent by the donor. By dialing the Kotani Pay USSD code, the farmer can withdraw these digital assets to local fiat directly to their mobile money wallet. Payment using digital assets ensures transparency and increases the donor confidence with the ability to track the activities all while actively doing good for the environment while financially empowering farmers to conserve more, a win-win situation.
3. Empowering communities to build sand dams
In most arid and semi-arid regions, drought is a real threat to the communities living in the area. Climate change has made the drier areas much drier by changing the weather patterns. Sand dams are pivotal in harvesting water when rain falls which can be used by communities in the drier seasons.
What better way to initiate such an initiative than to involve the local communities in building the solutions for themselves? The Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH) together with Celo, Kotani Pay, Africa Sand Dam Foundation (ASDF), and Laikipia Permaculture Training Center (LPTC) rolled out the digital cash-for-work program targeting locals in Laikipia County, Kenya. The program incentivized the participation of local communities in constructing sand dams, a climate-resilient program.
After the end of the task, participants would be paid in Celo USD to their feature phones and through the Kotani Pay, USSD code could easily cash out their earnings to their mobile money wallet. The program that saw a high percentage of local Maasai women participate empowered the local communities financially all while helping the same community to be well prepared in the future for the adverse effects of climate change.
These are among the areas that Kotani Pay has worked with local and international organizations to empower climate resilience, but these are just a few of the possibilities that come with Web 3:0. Climate action needs collective solutions and by collaborating as different industries, no solution is too small to make a difference for the future generations.
At Kotani Pay, we are committed to ensuring financial inclusion for all by linking your clients to accessible DeFi services. Let’s talk more.
