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Paraguay to Become Top Bitcoin Mining Hub in Latam According to Insight Group

Paraguay to Become Top Bitcoin Mining Hub in Latam According to Insight GroupParaguay, one of the smallest countries in Latam, has the conditions needed to become the next Bitcoin mining hub in the region, according to mining insight group Hashrate Index. The company notes there are many elements in favor of Paraguay, including the abundance of clean hydroelectric power sources. However, the stance that the government has […]

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Michael Saylor Publishes Open Letter Discussing the ‘Sheer Volume of Misinformation’ Tied to Bitcoin

Michael Saylor Publishes Open Letter Discussing the ‘Sheer Volume of Misinformation’ Tied to BitcoinThe Microstrategy executive Michael Saylor is a big believer in Bitcoin as his company has purchased close to 130,000 bitcoin during the last few years. Six days ago, the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy published a report that claims proof-of-work mining operations have been affecting climate change. The science and tech department believes […]

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Bitcoin Mining Threatens America’s Climate Change Efforts, White House Science and Tech Department Says

Bitcoin Mining Threatens America’s Climate Change Efforts, White House Science and Tech Department SaysThe Biden administration is concerned about digital currency mining operations affecting climate change, after the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy published a report that says politicians should take action against crypto mining. The federal government’s entity recommends the Biden administration should encourage more research about mining’s electricity consumption and codify public policy for […]

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ECB President Christine Lagarde Blames Climate Change for Europe’s Torrid Inflation

ECB President Christine Lagarde Blames Climate Change for Europe’s Torrid InflationAccording to the French politician currently serving as the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, Europe’s scorching hot inflation can be blamed on climate change. During her interview with Madame Figaro, Lagarde stressed that people need to take into account that “climate disasters” affect price stability a great deal. ECB Board Member […]

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Sweden Needs Power for More Useful Things Than Bitcoin Mining, Energy Minister Says

Sweden Needs Power for More Useful Things Than Bitcoin Mining, Energy Minister SaysConcerned about projected increase in electricity demand, the government in Sweden may turn its back on crypto mining, the country’s energy minister has indicated. Swedish bitcoin minting industry, a leader in Europe, is likely to soon lose the preferential treatment it has been taking advantage of for some time, a media report revealed. Crypto Miners […]

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WeWork founder reinvents himself with $70M crypto carbon credit platform

Coworking space founder and billionaire Adam Neumann is trying his hand in the crypto space, raising $70 million for his blockchain-powered climate tech platform Flowcarbon.

Three years after being ousted as CEO of WeWork, Adam Neumann has jumped on the crypto bandwagon, raising $70 million in the first major funding round for his climate tech venture Flowcarbon.

The project aims to make carbon trading more accessible by putting carbon credits on the blockchain.

Neumann is an Israeli-American businessman and investor famous for his role in founding coworking space provider WeWork in 2010, a company once heralded as the future of work spaces.

However, it all came crashing down in 2019 when the company attempted to go public, which instead lifted the lid on WeWork’s unprofitable business model and questionable leadership antics. The company went from being privately-valued at $47 billion in August 2019 to talk of filing for bankruptcy just six weeks after, with Neumann pressured to step down as CEO.

Adam and his wife, Rebekah Neumann have been listed as co-founders of Flowcarbon, along with CEO Dana Gibber, and COO Caroline Klatt — both of whom are co-founders of Headliner Labs, a company building AI-powered chatbots for major media brands. Ilan Stern, another co-founder of Flowcarbon, heads up Neumann’s own family office.

According to Flowcarbon, the recent funding round includes $32 million in funding from Silicon Valley investors Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz through their a16z crypto venture capital firm. Other investors include General Catalyst and Samsung Next.

Another $38 million was raised in a token-sale of Flowcarbon’s first carbon-backed token, the Goddess Nature Token (GNT).

The company describes itself as a pioneering climate technology company working to build market infrastructure in the voluntary carbon market (VCM). Through the tokenization of carbon credits on the Celo blockchain, Flowcarbon wants to make the purchase, selling and trading of carbon credits more accessible and efficient than the current carbon markets.

Carbon trading is a market-based system designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. 

Businesses that produce carbon-emissions can buy carbon credits to offset them from projects that remove or reduce greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, such as reforestation projects.

Related: WEF 2022: Trust and clarity are missing in discussions of carbon emissions and crypto

However, Flowcarbon argues that the voluntary carbon market is currently “inefficient, opaque, and inaccessible,” with brokers and consultants charging up to 20 percent in fees, many deals done behind closed doors and inconsistent pricing for carbon credit depending on the buyer. 

Flowcarbon’s solution to the voluntary carbon market is not unique. Other projects aimed at facilitating the buying and selling of tokenized carbon credits include Toucan Protocol, JustCarbon and Likvidi. 

Arianna Simpson, General Partner at a16z said it was an obvious area that could benefit from blockchain tech.

“The carbon market is extremely opaque and we believe demand for offsets is rapidly outpacing the speed at which supply can be increased, especially for nature-based projects. Tokenization is an obvious solution.”

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Blockchain and climate action gets highlighted at MENA Climate Week

Taking the stage at the MENA Climate Week, Kristina Cornèr, the editor-in-chief of Cointelegraph, shared insights into how the crypto community could contribute to positive climate impact.

MENA Climate Week kicked off on Tuesday with a focus on discussing the use of blockchain technology for bringing transformative climate action to the region. Kristina Cornèr, Cointelegraph’s editor-in-chief, shared her insights in a panel discussion on how the climate action sector can benefit from the crypto and blockchain community.

In the session held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Cornèr discussed topics ranging from the media’s role in educating the masses about blockchain to trust and collaboration within blockchain projects and how the climate action community could use the blockchain community’s strengths such as ambition, action and diversity to promote a positive environmental impact.

Cointelegraph editor-in-chief speaks at the MENA Climate Week panel in Dubai, UAE.

Explaining the mindset that the crypto community has when creating blockchain projects, Cornèr highlighted that ambition and action are some of the most important driving forces within natives of the blockchain sphere.

“The people who created this community are ones who are daring and ambitious, and I think that this is what climate action needs now. Shifting discussions from "what can we do" to "let’s do it" is how the blockchain community members are building their projects.”

Related: Crypto sustainability and green solutions highlighted at COP26

Apart from this, Cornèr also noted the importance of bringing diversity into the mix. She said that by being diverse, blockchain projects are able to come up with a variety of new solutions that can create various levels of change within the community.

“Collaboration is bringing as many voices as possible, similar to this panel and how you are bringing diversity here. This is what blockchain is also about because you can bring different voices and this can bring different solutions.”

Cornèr concluded her talk by reiterating that the Cointelegraph team is always open to giving a voice and a platform to those who are working within the blockchain and climate action space and that she hopes that both communities will have more collaborations in the future.

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Miami to use PlanetWatch and Algorand for air quality monitoring

PlanetWatch has been tapped to deploy a network of air quality sensors around the city to monitor the concentration of air pollution.

Miami is preparing to be one of the first major US cities to monitor its air quality using a decentralized Internet of Things (IoT) network built on Algorand.

French environmental technology company Planetwatch has developed five different types of air quality sensors. With funding from Borderless Capital’s $10 million PLANETS fund, sensors will be deployed throughout the city, including in the homes of city residents.

Each sensor detects the concentration of air pollution in an area. When combined into a network, they will help residents and city officials analyze where higher levels of pollution exist. Data collected by the sensors will be recorded on the Algorand blockchain making it tamper-proof and permanent.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has been a long-time advocate for the use of blockchain technology. He said at the DeCipher event in Miami on Nov. 29:

“The data from this project will play a crucial role in our climate adaptation efforts as well as our ambitions to make Miami an epicentre for digital capital markets.”

Residents who agree to run a sensor in their home will be rewarded with Planet Tokens (Planets). Planets can be sold for fiat in the open market or be exchanged for Earth Credits. Earth Credits are non-exchangeable tokens which PlanetWatch uses as internal currency for its products and services.

Related: DAOs empower social good with yield-generating DeFi products

Algorand is a carbon negative blockchain. Algorand also recently gained $1.5 billion in funding from former Citi executive Matt Zhang.

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Norway Mulls Backing Sweden’s Call for Euro Ban on Crypto Mining

Norway Mulls Backing Sweden’s Call for Euro Ban on Crypto MiningThe government in Norway is considering ways to limit the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining and may support Swedish proposals to that end, including a European ban on proof-of-work mining. The European Commission has revealed it is already working to promote a transition to “more sustainable” protocols. Extensive Use of Renewable Energy for Mining Is […]

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Crypto sustainability and green solutions highlighted at COP26

Speaking at the COP26 summit, Cointelegraph's Editor-in-Chief shared expert insights into the potential impact the crypto community could have on environmental initiatives.

Cointelegraph’s Editor-in-Chief, Kristina Cornèr spoke at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, in Glasgow, Scotland, on Tuesday about the positive impact of the cryptocurrency ecosystem on environmental objectives.

Arriving in Scotland's second-largest city following panel hosting duties at Lisbon's Web Summit last week, Cornèr spoke on a wide range of topics ranging from establishing interoperable relationships between people and technology to the mining impact of Bitcoin (BTC).

Commenting on the disparity between the implementation of climate change initiatives between the traditional energy sectors and the crypto community, Cornèr argued that the emergence of new technology provides an opportunity to learn, stating:

“Decentralization is an alternative to campanilism, or as it’s known in the English language, parochialism. This is a local, small mindset versus a global vision of a decentralized world.”

Before she transitioned into the cryptocurrency space, Cornèr established an illustrious background working in the environment sector as a Communications Manager for the Union of French Entreprises for Energy Efficiency and Ecology and continued on to study international energy politics and green technologies as a Research Fellow at the ENERPO Center at the European University.

Discussing the often hypocritical tendencies at global conferences and summits to advocate for universal behavior change at the consumer level, instead of governmental or corporation-led action, she stated:

“The key to big historical shifts is not in completely changing or shifting, but in new synergy between people, technology and education.”

Related: How will blockchain technology help fight climate change? Experts answer

Non-profit environmental group, Germanwatch shared their latest iteration of their annual Climate Change Performance Index 2022. The expert panel of authors spoke to a global audience about the performance of 60 nations which account for 92% of the global emissions.

Offering her opinion on the misconceptions surrounding Bitcoin's mining activity, and the impact of tarnishing a nascent industry for its early flaws, instead of recognizing its future potential for energy efficiency, Cornèr stated:

"Of course there are pitfalls as there is with every new industry, but we are on the way to creating more green solutions. What is really important with the blockchain space is that people are ready to think with a new mindset and searching for the solutions and the climate change coalition is a great example of that.”

The Crypto Climate Accord is an environmentally-focused initiative collating over 150 firms from the crypto, blockchain, tech and energy industries who seek to establish a unified approach to supporting sustainability, as well as making pledges for net-carbon output by 2030. Notable participants include Consensys, Web3 Foundation, Ripple, Near Protocol and Pixl8, amongst others.

Concluding her speech, Cornèr shared a unifying message about the inherent value of humanity, amid the rise in technology, in securing the future prosperity of Earth's ecosystem:

“The crypto community is ambitious, daring and full of potential. Innovation is about synergy. It’s beyond technology and about people. It’s about us.”

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