By
Temitope Olatunji
April 24th, 2024
Polygon has rolled out a blueprint that it believes will help engender a broader carbon neutral and climate positive ecosystem.
The Polygon network recently announced that it will be carbon neutral and climate-friendly this year. As part of this commitment, the Ethereum-based software platform released its “Green Manifesto: A Smart Contract with Planet Earth”. In addition, Polygon also made a $20 million pledge toward offsetting its carbon footprints.
Polygon’s “Green Manifesto” posits climate change as the biggest stumbling block to Web3, blockchain – and metaverse embracement. As a result, the multi-chain system believes that all blockchain activities must be environmentally accountable. Some of these activities include token bridging, DeFi trading, and NFT minting.
According to Polygon’s founder Sandeep Nailwal, the sustained collective efforts of blockchain companies are required for a “united front” toward carbon neutrality. In addition, Nailwal also stated that blockchain companies need to invest more in “technology that helps heal the earth – rather than destroy it.”
On its part, Polygon stated that it would provide resources for ecosystem partners looking to offset their carbon footprint. This includes funding initiatives toward creating trading in carbon credits on the blockchain. In addition, the Ethereum scaling solution also intends to facilitate NGO donations directed at climate protection and preservation. Nailwal believes that these goals are achievable, with deliberate and conscious efforts. As the Polygon founder put it:
“Through our sustainability commitment and community-driven efforts, we can successfully address societal shifts, avoid the worst impacts of climate change, and meet the sustainable development goals set out by the United Nations.”
Polygon’s long-term vision is for its ecosystem and the entire blockchain industry to be the first characterized as climate positive.
Polygon to Team Up with KlimaDAO on Carbon Tracking
Polygon is collaborating with KlimaDAO, and will use data from the on-chain carbon offsetting technology provider. KlimaDAO also provides Offsetra, which Polygon will use to counterbalance the carbon emissions related to its operations. Furthermore, the blockchain firm will also purchase $400,000 carbon credits through KlimaDAO. Deploying the decentralized autonomous organization’s services will better enable Polygon to form a foolproof management strategy. Furthermore, Polygon revealed that it had commissioned the Crypto Carbon Ratings Institute to provide an audit of its carbon footprint.
According to Polygon, 99% of its emissions are direct because of “checkpointing” and “bridging” activities which involve transactions on the Ethereum Mainnet. Checkpointing refers to merging the Polygon transactions into the Ethereum blockchain.
Polygon stated that between February 2021 and February 2022, its network emissions amounted to 85,015 tonnes of CO2. In addition, the Ethereum scaling protocol also cited a total network emission of 90,645 tonnes of CO2e under companies like Microsoft and Deloitte. This was also for the same period of 12 months up until February 2022.
Many crypto and blockchain activities are power intensive. The sheer amount of energy required to run the sector has been cause for concern in some corners for a while now.