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The World Economic Forum in mid-September published a report examining how blockchain technologies can be harnessed to address serious environmental problems, better manage our shared global environment and help promote sustainable growth and value creation. The report outlined some of the world's most pressing environmental challenges and highlighted eight blockchain-based game changes that could lead to transformative solutions to these urgent problems.
"Most of the world's current environmental problems can be traced to industrialization, particularly after the" great acceleration "of global economic activity from the 1950s," the report notes. "Although this has produced impressive results in human progress and prosperity, it has also led to unwanted consequences … the research of many Earth system scientists suggests that life on earth could now enter a period of changes in environmental systems without previous. "
True, blockchain is still in its early stages of development and implementation. His skills have often been underestimated, as in the case of almost all promising technologies. But, as the WEF report states, if blockchain one day is at the height of its promises, it could "transform the way society operates, becoming one of the most significant innovations from the creation of the Internet. to exploit this innovation to face the environmental problem, the challenges are equally significant ".
The report lists over 65 blockchain use cases that are particularly relevant to environmental challenges ranging from climate change and loss of biodiversity to the decline in air quality, ocean warming, and increase in natural disasters and concerns about fresh water. Most of these use cases are still under design or pilot, with only a handful of production.
It also proposes eight major game changes: areas in which blockchain, in combination with other advanced technologies, could disrupt existing business models and lead to truly transformative solutions over time. Let me discuss three of these game changes.
"Transparent" supply chains. Supply chain applications will probably be among the first commercial blockchains in production. Infrastructure and supply chain processes are significantly less complex than those in financial services, healthcare and other sectors. Their objectives are relatively simple: to increase the speed, security and accuracy of financial and commercial agreements; trace the life cycle of the supply chain of any component or product; and securely protect all transactions and data moving through the supply chain. The ability of Blockchains to record all transactions flowing through a supply chain creates an immutable record of the origin of a product, with the potential for full transparency and traceability from the origin to the store. Many experimental applications are already underway.
"Looking ahead, the blockchain has the potential to connect all stakeholders in a global supply chain – from workers in factories to logistics, retailers, consumers, investors, NGOs and regulators – under a & # 39. The only platform A platform that provides the data, traceability, transparency, control, or compliance mechanism that the user needs is a truly transformational proposition for informal economy workers and consumers. "
Automatic preparation for disasters and humanitarian aid. At the beginning of this year I attended a conference at the Northeastern University of Boston sponsored by the Global Resilience Institute, a research and education initiative to advance the resilience of individuals, communities, economies and societies in the whole world strengthening their ability to adapt to an increasingly turbulent world. A key theme throughout the conference was that, by increasing the frequency and size of natural and man-made disasters, an effective response requires a global effort that matches the complexity of systems and networks at all times. more interdependent on which we all rely.
Experimental blockchain solutions for disaster preparedness are starting to be developed. "Blockchain could support a new shared system for several parties involved in disaster preparedness and aid to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, coordination and trust of resources," notes the WEF report. "A well-designed system could allow a wide range of actors to automatically share crucial disaster information through smart contracts, which could, for example, mobilize emerging resources more quickly and effectively, automatically redirect supply chains. and enable relief agencies to better coordinate their efforts in response to emergencies ".
Decentralized and sustainable management of resources. Every four years, the National Intelligence Council develops a global trend report that looks at 15 to 20 years to provide a framework for strategic conversations within and outside the US government. Global Trends 2030, published in December 2012, identified the growing nexus of food, water and energy in combination with climate change as one of four global megatrends that should shape and transform the world in the coming decades. Throughout the world, the swelling of urban populations and the billions of people emerging from poverty and joining a growing middle class are increasing pressure on critical resources. Furthermore, changing weather conditions are putting further pressure on food and water resources.
"Blockchain can support a transition to decentralized, clean, and more energy-efficient systems in terms of large-scale resources, and platforms can collect data distributed across these resources (for example, water and other data). family-level energy collected with smart sensors.) This is a turning point because decision-makers in systems – both centralized authorities and retail users – often make decisions only with partial information. Blockchain-enabled platforms may exceed this and allow for a more informed decision-making process and even a decentralized decision-making process on the management of these resources or the wider system This could include traceability and verification of renewable energy sources, peer-to-peer trade, dynamic pricing and better balancing of demand ".
Irving Wladawsky-Berger has worked for IBM for 37 years and was a strategic advisor to Citigroup, HBO and Mastercard. He is a member of MIT and Imperial College and is a regular contributor to the CIO Journal.
