Climate Regulation
The Global Carbon Standard (GCS) was originally created in 2023 by the initiative of Carbify. The “Global Carbon Standard” serves as both a voluntary carbon market standard and a methodology. At its core, this standard introduces the concept of carbon debits—carbon tokens on blockchain that only account for the CO2 that has been offset. This means that there is no pre-allocation or assignment of carbon credits. Sequestered CO2 is converted into $aCO2 tokens, with one (1) $aCO2 token representing one (1) kilogram of CO2. GCC accepts projects worldwide and with a minimum duration of 20 years.
All information from GCS is stored in a blockchain registry. Carbify commissioned the validation of GCS from Earthhood, and the report can be found here.
The types of climate projects include reforestation or afforestation initiatives. The CO2 offset is calculated using an annual absorption rate. These calculations take into account several factors, such as the number of trees planted, their growth rate, and species type. Additional factors, such as soil composition, climate conditions, management practices, and baseline scenarios, also influence the carbon sequestration capacity. Each kilogram of CO2 absorbed is linked to the ID of the specific tree responsible for the sequestration. GCS mandates that onboarded projects plant an additional 10% of each tree species or leave 10% without tokenization. If the non-permanence criteria are not met, the carbon tokens issued to the project owner will not be functional and will be “black-listed” by Carbify.
The demarcation of the project boundary in GCS is done via GIS mapping, for which Carbify has developed a basic manual. It is worth noting that, at present, all remote sensing techniques are applied solely to project mapping, not to biomass estimation, which may be incorporated in the future. The GCS Team will conduct annual to bi-annual monitoring of enrolled projects to ensure compliance with the agreement over the 20-year term. This monitoring will utilize various methods and technologies to ensure accuracy and reliability.
As a result of implementing GCS, the following products have been introduced:
- Carbify’s Tree Tokens (“NFTrees”): They represent part of a climate project.
- $aCO2 Tokens: These tokens are issued in proportion to the average yearly CO2 sequestration of a tree over 20 years, amounting to 175 tokens per year per tree.
- Carbon Reduction Certificate: To obtain this certificate, $aCO2 tokens need to be burned. A request is then generated, details filled in, and the form submitted. The Carbify team reviews and potentially approves the request.
According to the registry, GCS has registered 39 projects in Brazil. A total of 57,350,950.8 kg of CO2 has been issued, with 360,708.1 kg offset. All projects were implemented by Carbify.
Blockchain Technologies
The GCS standard states that blockchain technology is used for running the registry (registration of climate projects, issuing carbon debits, transferring them, and retiring them). However, it is not currently possible to verify this via the public blockchain explorer link available on the official website.
Team, Investments, Marketing, and Community
Initiators of GCS:
Initiators of Carbify:
Investments
From publicly available information, Carbify attracted investments through a private sale of $1,049,766 and a public sale of $805,442 in CBY tokens. More information about the project’s tokenomics can be found here.
Community of Carbify:
- Carbify Website: Carbify.io
- Carbify Discord: Carbify Discord
- Carbify Telegram: Carbify Telegram
- Carbify Twitter: Carbify Twitter
- LinkedIn: Carbify LinkedIn
The main marketing uses of $aCO2 are as follows:
- $aCO2 can be burned to create an official carbon reduction certificate, helping combat global warming.
- $aCO2 can be burned in the game Eco-Empires: Battle for the Earth to speed up unit and building levels.
- $aCO2 can be sold for USDC, USDT, CBY via one of the pools on the Carbify dashboard.
Current Investment Attractiveness
There is an opportunity to purchase NFTrees and earn 175 CO2 tokens annually for 20 years. CO2 tokens can be sold in pools for USDT, USDC, or CBY. As of writing, the price of an aCO2 token is $0.15 USDC, while an NFTree costs $15 USDC. This reward can be increased by acquiring a Landplot and staking CBY. All these options are available on Carbify Dashboard.
*This information is not investment advice. Conduct your own research before investing.
Areas for Improvement
The project has a robust economic model with gamification features. Carbify has attracted significant investment and progressed by creating a registry, implementing climate projects, and generating demand for GCS tokens like NFTrees and $aCO2.
To further make the standard competitive on the global carbon market, it could be beneficial to make the verification and validation policies for climate project results public, as well as to provide more transparency around blockchain token issuance, similar to Tero Carbon. Additionally, Carbify should consider future climate regulations in Brazil, as all current projects are based in that country.