Carbon credit company ClimaDAO will start trading services in Japan in April – Compatible with government-operated “J Credit” | CoinDesk JAPAN

As markets in which the effects of reducing greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) can be issued and traded in the form of “carbon credits” are expanding around the world, carbon credits can be tokenized on the blockchain and borderless. , many startups are proceeding with development in an effort to create a highly transparent digital market.

One of them is “KlimaDAO”. CLIMADAO is literally operated as a “Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)”, a democratic organization based on blockchain, without centralized management.

The organization’s Japanese subsidiary, KlimaDAO Japan, which was established in October last year, will begin operating a Japanese-style marketplace in which domestic companies and individuals can participate as early as April. The company’s representative, Shohei Hamada, made this announcement in an interview with CoinDesk Japan.

Tokenize “J Credit” certified carbon credits

(From KlimaDAO’s homepage)

Under the plan, credits certified under the domestic “J Credit System” operated by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of the Environment, etc. will be tokenized and will be able to be traded on the same marketplace. A certificate will also be issued if a company uses the credits it has acquired to offset its own greenhouse gas emissions.

ClimaDAO was co-founded in October 2021 by Giorgio Donà-Danioni, an Italian-born lawyer residing in Dubai. The company has already started operating a global version of its marketplace, Carbonmark, where transactions are centered on credits certified by Verra, a major American private carbon credit certification company. Polygon was adopted as the underlying blockchain.

In addition to operating Carbon Mark, KLIMADAO also operates a so-called decentralized finance (KLIMA), which combines the unique token “KLIMA” backed by carbon credits with the US dollar-linked stablecoin “USDC” issued by Circle Inc. We are also developing services that correspond to DeFi).

Since the KLIMA token is not currently traded as a crypto asset (virtual currency) at domestic crypto asset exchanges, the company plans to not provide services using the token in the Japanese market for the time being.

The third-party organization that certifies carbon credits is called a “registry,” and Vera is the world’s largest registrant, and its purpose is to ensure the transparency and reliability of credit issuance and transactions. On the other hand, ClimaDAO is trying to create an environment where credits from all over the world can be traded through a carbon credit digital marketplace with even greater transparency based on blockchain, which has excellent tamper resistance. He explains.

Collaboration with Nagasaki and Saikai City: Fully utilizing credits, NFTs, and Metaverse

In addition to tokenizing J Credits and operating a marketplace, another initiative that ClimaDAO Japan, led by Mr. Hamada, is promoting in the Japanese market is creating carbon credits for oil companies, electric power companies, manufacturers, local governments, etc. This is a project that supports project development.

Mr. Hamada says that he would like to create a system that allows the general public to participate, and to create a greenhouse gas reduction project in which all stakeholders, including businesses, people, and government, can participate.

In fact, last year, ClimaDAO Japan began designing a project in collaboration with Saikai City, Nagasaki Prefecture, which is aiming for “zero carbon.” Although it is still in the consideration stage, we will create a project to create carbon credits certified as J credits in Saikai City, and make the tokenized credits tradeable on the ClimaDAO Japan marketplace.

We have teamed up with Nishikai Creative Company (SCC), a local company that specializes in AI and Web3 technology, to create a system that will issue NFTs linked to carbon credits and allow individuals to acquire them within the Metaverse. Mr. Hamada says that he wants to attach benefits to NFTs and create an environment where individuals can enjoy taking action in response to climate change, using both the real world and the metaverse.

ClimaDAO Japan is also exchanging opinions with game development companies and other parties about mechanisms that allow carbon credits to be used in games.

“Individual activities indirectly lead to greenhouse gas emissions, and the idea of ​​using carbon credits to offset these emissions is becoming more popular, especially in Europe. I think Japan and other Asian countries will become more active in responding to this issue.” (Mr. Hamada)

Large companies operating globally in Europe, the United States, Japan, and other countries have set “zero carbon” or “carbon neutral” as one of their management visions, and are expanding the use of carbon credits.

In Africa, a part of the Global South where significant economic growth is expected over the next 10 years, natural “carbon sinks” (carbon dioxide absorption sources) such as tropical rainforests and mangrove wetlands are attracting attention as a new resource called carbon credits. became. African governments are moving forward with new legislation regarding how carbon credit revenues can be used.

In Japan, after the Tokyo Stock Exchange opened an exchange to buy and sell J Credit in October last year, SBI Holdings, which operates a wide range of businesses from financial services to digital assets, will jointly launch the carbon credit exchange “Carbon” with Asuene. EX” was launched.

Projects that generate carbon credits, like “bamboo shoots after the rain,” and the markets that trade them are increasing around the world. Will CLIMADAO Japan be able to create a marketplace that attracts Japanese corporations and individuals?

｜Interview/Text: Shigeru Sato
｜Photo: Mr. Shohei Hamada, representative of Clima DAO Japan (Photo: Airi Okonogi)