Ripple Invests $100M in Carbon Markets in Effort to Address Climate Change

Payment protocol Ripple has invested $100 million into the carbon markets in an effort to support zero emissions. In an official press release, the payment protocol said the financial commitment is for scaling and strengthening the global markets. Ripple noted the factors affecting the carbon markets in its announcement. The market is unable to meet up with high demands due to supply restrictions. The carbon markets are also facing a lack of high-quality and authentic products. To actualize climate goals globally, there is a need for enhanced mechanisms to verify and certify projects. Also, these mechanisms will enable transparency in market data and pricing.

Ripple Commits $100 Million to Strengthen Carbon Markets

The commitment is also targeted at addressing quality and transparency using crypto and blockchain. Ripple said the funding would also support climate-focused fintech and carbon removal companies. In addition, Ripple will develop a portfolio of additive, natural, scientific, and long-term carbon credits. The company will use part of the carbon credits to attain net-zero by 2030 or before. Also, the payment protocol will continually support new functionality and developer tools that enable carbon credit tokenization as core NFTs on the XRP Ledger.

According to Ripple, the financial commitment aims at the carbon markets and helps further attempts toward limiting global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The protocol will also continue to partner with leading climate and conservation organizations globally to support the carbon markets. Together, the partnership will create new ways to remove carbon.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse commented on the carbon markets financing. He said the company only responded to the call for companies to support climate change financially. The CEO noted that there is also a call for companies to use their resources and talent to address climate change. Speaking further, The Ripple executive noted that blockchain and crypto have significant roles in supporting carbon markets in reaching their maximum potential.

Ripple’s Plans on Carbon Neutral

Back in 2020, Ripple initially announced its intention to go carbon neutral by 2030. In the same year, the protocol helped to decarbonize the XRPL, making it the first major blockchain to become carbon neutral. The company noted that it would get on track to attaining its 2030 mission by 2028.

The General Manager at RippleX, Monica Long, stated:

“Tokenizing carbon credits can play a vital role in scaling carbon markets and meeting growing demand while ensuring the credibility, integrity and transparency of existing markets. Several carbon removal projects and fintechs are already building on the XRPL to bring new climate solutions to market. By bringing blockchain to global climate initiatives, the industry can more quickly verify and certify NFT carbon credits, eliminate the potential for fraud, and even guarantee the offset is actually removing carbon for the long term.”

CarbonCure Technologies Chair and CEO Robert Niven agrees that the Ripple funding will impact the carbon markets.