CRED by Carbonbase launches at SCMP's Climate Summit
CRED, a new form of green currency for the metaverse, has made its debut at the South China Morning Post's first Climate Change Summit. Created by Carbonbase, the project assisted in keeping the event carbon-neutral for both the organisers and attendees.
The South China Morning Post recently held its first Climate Change Hong Kong Summit on the 16-17th of June, which has been carbon-neutral with the support of Carbonbase. From the transporting of goods and materials to hosting virtual sessions, providing food and drinks to in-person attendees, and integrating hybrid facilities, the event shed light on the carbon footprint generated by day-to-day actions that typically go unnoticed but create a longstanding effect.
The feat was able to be accomplished using CRED, the first “climate positive base currency” for the metaverse, which was also launched during the event. CRED (Carbon REmoval Dollar) is created by Carbonbase, powered by Project Ark, and has its ecosystem supported by ImpactNFT Alliance and iShang. It works by allowing users to convert carbon credits from carbon offset projects provided by Carbonbase into CRED based on emission bought, which can be used to buy exclusive NFT projects within the marketplace. The offset projects contribute a great deal into working towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with examples being the provision of biogas cookstoves in China to reduce carbon emissions, the protection of the Amazon Rainforest's agriculture and citizens, and the accessibility to safe water in Uganda. These create wide-reaching impacts on social issues, spanning beyond simply reducing carbon emissions, but also providing a sustainable quality of life in affected regions.
The SCMP has ultimately chosen the UPM Sichuan Rural Poor-Household Biogas Development Programme, a certified SDG impact project under the Gold Standard for the Global Goals programme, as their sustainable project of choice for the carbon-offset. Besides the event's overall footprint being offset, attendees also received a special carbon credit voucher, which can offset two months of an individual's personal carbon footprint living in Hong Kong, including participation in the Summit, be it in-person or online. Such incentives towards carbon offsetting and its awareness allow for further opportunities to arise in terms of hosting sustainable events and actively offsetting carbon footprints, while working towards a global goal to eventually become carbon neutral.