Poseidon is a non-profit foundation that empowers everyone to rebalance their climate impact with a breakthrough approach. Using blockchain and artificial intelligence, it gives consumers the opportunity to rebalance the climate impact of their lifestyle choices by supporting forest conservation projects around the world.
What is a Carbon Credit?
Therefore, conserving the forest will result in the yearly emissions reduction equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide these trees have already absorbed throughout their lifecycle. The various certification standards for carbon credits are more complex than this example, and they depend on project methodology and location, though the above is a good illustration of the general process. What makes land-based carbon credits so powerful is that they provide a host of additional benefits. In the example we have given, even though the calculation is only for a small percentage of the area, of course the entire forest is conserved. This in turn protects the biodiversity that lives in these precious ecosystems as well as local communities, some of which have never even been in touch with the outside world. The value of these carbon credits is vast, and we decided to focus on forest conservation for these reasons. One carbon credit is what you get when an emissions reductions project avoids the release of one metric ton of carbon dioxide into the Earth's atmosphere. These carbon credits can then for example be used to offset the emissions resulting from running a business, which is why they are also called carbon offsets. There are many types of carbon credits, as for example from renewable energy projects or from forest conservation. At Poseidon, we feel that forest conservation projects not only generate the currently most environmentally and socially sound carbon credits.
Are we really paying extra?
Of course, we have considered the possibility of a future decline in the trading of carbon credits and even the collapse of carbon markets. While given the vast existential threat of climate change both of these scenarios seem highly unrealistic, we have taken mitigating measures to ensure we are addressing every possible risk to the Poseidon business model. As part of our strategy, we allocated resources to the research and development of climate friendly technologies. We have hired an innovation officer to drive and manage research into these technologies, as for example in the automotive sector. And we have partnered with a company that will help us with the development of these technologies. An interesting question is whether paying extra to add carbon credits to purchases, even if it is only a few pennies, is an extra cost or whether it is in fact a discount. Think about it. How much does it cost you to go to the gym and how much would it cost you if you got sick because you did not stay fit? We understand the importance of a healthy body and we understand that it does not simply happen. We have to do something to stay healthy, and a gym membership is one way. Is it not the same with our ecosystem? Is protecting the environment today not cheaper than later paying for the damages caused by climate change? If we can avoid natural disasters, is that not the better and cheaper way? It is an interesting question, and everyone needs to answer this for themselves. What we do know is that the scientific community agrees that humans have significantly contributed to global warming and it is also clear that the increase in natural disasters can be attributed to it. In addition, farmers find it more and more challenging to achieve the same yields that they have seen just a few years before. Climate change is happening, and the effects will cost all of us a lot of money. At Poseidon, we believe in prevention and strongly believe that a few pennies spent today will save us many dollars tomorrow. we are on the verge of catastrophic climate change that threatens the extinction of most animal and plant life around the world. If we will witness the loss of life at the scale we are currently facing, then it is a logical consequence what will happen to human life. Carbon credits are not an option, they are a necessity. Because with very few exceptions, it is difficult to channel funding to forest conservation projects as they do not offer significant commercial incentives for supporters. A striving global voluntary carbon market using the Poseidon platform can change this by making land-based carbon credits accessible to everyone, transparently connecting carbon offsets with carbon emissions, creating a global price point that allows the market to grow across borders, and conserving the most precious ecosystems around the world.