Interview with Juan Boluda , Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of the CLIMATECOIN Foundation

Climate Action interviewed Juan Boluda , Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of the CLIMATECOIN Foundation- a Gold sponsor in the 8th Sustainable Innovation Forum, about the power of cryptocurrencies to contribute to climate action.

1. CLIMATECOIN constitutes a new cryptocurrency using the Blockchain technology to fight climate change. Do you want to say a few words behind this idea?

Nowadays, any actions taken from either Organizations or individuals to mitigate climate change, are very limited. Individuals who make their own actions on the day to day basis like recycling, going to work by bus or by public transport, etc, don’t know what the output of them is. This can be sometimes discouraging. That’s why we decided to make something that allows everybody, regardless their social profile, economical status, age, or living conditions, to fight against climate change while they can monitor real time how, when, where, and how much of their contribution is being invested to do so. This only can be done with the Blockchain system. This cutting edge technology has many advantages from the current traditional systems which rule many aspects of our life. All this benefits will be provided and will help CLIMATECOIN Foundation to create the biggest exponential organization and the best environmental and sustainable vehicle to help preserving our World.

For climate action, Climatecoin will use Blockchain technology in the following specific ways:

Improved Carbon Emission Trading: Blockchain could be used to improve the system of carbon asset transactions. For example, IBM and Energy Blockchain Lab are currently working together to develop a Blockchain platform for trading carbon assets in China. Recording carbon assets on a public Blockchain would also guarantee transparency and ensure that transactions are valid and settled automatically.

Facilitated Clean Energy Trading: The technology could also allow for the development of platforms for peer-to-peer renewable energy trade. Consumers would be able to buy, sell or exchange renewable energy with each other, using tokens or tradable digital assets representing a certain quantity of energy production.

Enhanced Climate Finance Flows: Blockchain technology could help develop crowdfunding and peer-to-peer financial transactions in support of climate action, while ensuring that financing is allocated to projects in a transparent way. Better tracking and reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction and avoidance of double counting: The technology could provide more transparency regarding GHG emissions and make it easier to track and report emission reductions, thereby addressing possible double counting issues. It could serve as a tool to monitor the progress made in implementing the Nationally Determined Contributions, or “NDCs” under the Paris Agreement, as well as in company targets.

What we also thought is that the fact that everybody who is making sustainable actions to fight against climate change, they are contributing with money/efforts and don’t expect to have any money back from that. We wanted to go beyond, and convert this donations into investments. Therefore, contributing in CLIMATECOIN will mean receiving 3 different benefits:

• Enjoying our world’s beauty as it is right now, at least.
• Preserving and leaving the best legacy to our descendants
• Perceiving economical profits from their contributions.

2. How can companies participate?

As we said, not only corporations can participate. Everybody is able to contribute because we know that “Planet saving” concern us all. What CLIMATECOIN will do to actively contribute to achieve its goal, is to invest/participate in companies which have disruptive products/ideas to fight the current climate change crisis and help them using Blockchain technology. This technology will contribute to greater stakeholder involvement, transparency and engagement, and help bring trust and further innovative solutions in the fight against climate change, leading to enhanced climate actions.

We know that companies that are focused on environmental projects will typically have difficulties in receiving investments and proper management to make their products competitive. We will aid them with investing while also advising them on how to manage their companies, give them economical resources, improve their production processes, etc. With our help, they will hopefully be able to produce competitive solutions against products that harm the environment.

3. What projects do you plan on financing to support the fight against climate change? How will the financing take place?

Our experienced Management Committee, together with several venture capital and business experts being hired before the end of the year, will be considering the most innovative and disruptive companies, projects and teams from more than 1.000 candidates that will come from different sources (UNFCCC, Universities, website, partners, own research, etc.). After the initial selection, the 1.000 projects will end up in 100 to be studied together with our Investment Committee composed by some members of the board of advisors, and some more from experts selected from CLIMATECOIN partners. The total projects/companies to be invested may be normally a total of 20 to be invested each round for early stage investment. This process will depend on the quality and expectation of future profitability of projects, so amounts and number of projects invested yearly may vary.

We have initially selected 3 disruptive companies where to invest after our token sale:

• BIOGAS Plant 0.5MW, WASTE DISPOSAL Plant and Organic Fertilizers Company with special patented technology to be able to grow the business globally.
• BIOFUEL Company with special focus on bio-jet fuel for the aviation industry. The company deploys an energy oilseed crop very resistant to drought and frost. It has introduced one crop as a rotation crop with traditional cereal in arid dryland regions with low productivity.
• CO2 Sequestration Technology Company that permits direct air capture as the best environmentally benign option for large-scale CO2 removal. It is the first commercial carbon removal technology on the market today, allowing to physically remove any organization’s or individual’s past, present and future CO2 emissions.

The foundation will be hiring a highly reputable audit company to assure that funds are being invested in the right places when acquiring companies, products, or services. The auditing process will be thorough before any investments are made.

Any money raised will be locked into cold storage with a company that will be disclosed after the launch.

4. What is the revolutionary element cryptocurrencies offer that traditional banks don’t?

Many “traditional” Equity Funds have several requirements at the time of allowing individuals/corporations to invest. They are not easily accessible to everybody, they require significant initial commitments, or you probably cannot get your cash back before the manager realizes the investments in the portfolio because an investor's capital may be locked-up in long-term investments for several years.  Investing in CLIMATECOIN as a “Crypto-Fund” all those requirements won’t apply at all.

On the other hand, one of the major benefits of a Blockchain system is that it eliminates, or vastly reduces, costs in a wide variety of applications and most prominently in financial services. It eliminates having a central authority in conducting and validating transactions. Instead, transactions will go straight from sender to receiver.

5. This year you are a Gold Sponsor for the 8th Sustainable Innovation Forum. Why did you decide to participate?

We’re facing one of the biggest issues of our history. Climate change is in dead, the biggest threat to which humans need to fight, and SIF is clearly the most important event to manifest, explain and join forces to discuss how we are doing it. As we’re bringing an innovative product/idea, mixing the three most significant/trendy issues (Climate Change, Blockchain, Crypto-currency), we are kean to present the real opportunity to generate exponential impact among society.

CLIMATECOIN Foundation will participate in “The Role of Carbon Pricing, Taxing & Trading in Rapid Emissions Reduction” Panel Discussion on the second day of the 8th Sustainable Innovation Forum, taking place alongsire COP23 To learn more about the conference agenda and how to register visit http://www.cop-23.org/download/conference-agenda/. ;