INATBA Members Champion Blockchain Applications at COP26

INATBA was proud to have two members present as part of the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, in Glasgow. The side events were organised by the European Commission, streamed to thousands of participants around the world. 

INATBA Social Impact Working Group Co-Chair Presents Development of Measurement Framework for Social Impact Projects

Co-Chair of INATBA’s Social Impact Working Group Mariana De La Roche, Project Manager at IOTA Foundation, participated in the panel “Scaling up of Innovative Digital Solutions for Climate Action,” moderated by Dr Axel Klaphake, Director of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Mariana was joined by fellow panellists Mark Williams, Practice Manager at the World Bank, David Jensen, Director of the UN Environment Programme Digital Transformation Task Force, Esther Kunda, Director General of the Rwanda Ministry of ICT and Innovation and Bernhard Kowatsch, Head of the WFP Innovation Accelerator. 

Mariana presented INATBA’s recently published report on Blockchain for Social Impact, authored by the Social Impact Working Group. The report analyses results from a survey conducted by Working Group Members on blockchain for social impact projects active around the world. The main takeaways of the report were that project developers take into account the United Nations Development Programme Sustainable Development Goals at all stages of project development, and there is a lack of a standardised framework for measuring the impact of these projects. Mariana noted, “Over 44% of these projects were working on climate action-related topics.”

In response to this ecosystem need, the SIWG launched a call to action for blockchain and social impact stakeholders to work with INATBA to develop a new framework for dissemination across the blockchain and social good ecosystems. Mariana also presented climate action projects she works on as part of her role at the IOTA Foundation, including Dig_IT which will “improve the efficiency and sustainability of mining activities across Europe.” 

Watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/GuHWLdYiKV4?t=26999 

INATBA Member Spotlights Digital Innovation for Climate Action Applications

INATBA Member Metagood also participated in the exciting event. Bill Tai, Co-Founder and Chairman of Metagood, spoke on a panel entitled “Digital Solutions as an Enabler for Climate Action.” European Commission Director of DG Connect, Gerard de Graaf, moderated the session, joined by panellists Luis Neves, CEO of Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative, Nicole Robertson, Global Head of Sustainability, NOKIA and Matt Brittin, EMEA President of Google. The panellists discussed their companies’ commitment to ensuring net-zero emissions, inspiring examples of digitally enabled solutions with climate benefits and important factors in accelerating the green transformation. Bill noted, “We are seeing an explosion in NFTs in no way the world has seen before… If I were the government, I would define what “good behaviour” looks like and incentivise this.”

Metagood brought their commitment to social impact to COP26 in a new series of video projections on the Glasgow event venue, the Armadillo. The projections featured works from famed artists and climate change activists. Following the event, Metagood will tokenise the projections and make them available for sale as NFTs to raise money supporting climate activists. 

Find a video recording here: https://youtu.be/HExyMmmzNIQ. 

Climate Action and Blockchain Have a Bright Future Together

The inclusion of blockchain experts and topics like NFTs and tokenisation at a world-renowned client event is proof that world leaders are opening up to the tremendous potential of DLT to accelerate climate action. At INATBA, we remain committed to advancing sustainable technology solutions and contributing to a greener world. To join our Climate Action and Social Impact Working Groups, we invited you to become a member here.