FAQ

Frequently asked questions

• What is a Carbon Footprint?
  
  Carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with all the activities of a person or other entity (e.g., building, organization, country, etc.). It includes direct emissions, such as those that result from fossil-fuel combustion in manufacturing, heating and transportation, as well as emissions required to produce the electricity associated with goods and services consumed. In addition, the carbon footprint concept also often includes the emissions of other greenhouse gases, such as methane, nitrous oxide or chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
  
  Source: Britannica
  
• What is the Paris Climate Agreement?
  
  ‍To tackle climate change and its negative impacts, world leaders at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris reached a breakthrough on 12 December 2015. The Paris Agreement provides a durable framework guiding the global effort for decades to come. It marks the beginning of a shift towards a net-zero emissions world. Implementation of the Agreement is also essential for the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
  
  The Agreement sets long-term goals to guide all nations:
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    ▸ Substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to limit the global temperature increase in this century to 2 degrees Celsius while pursuing efforts to limit the increase even further to 1.5 degrees.
    ▸ Provide financing to developing countries to mitigate climate change, strengthen resilience and enhance abilities to adapt to climate impacts.
    ▸ Review countries’ commitments every five years
  
  The Agreement is a legally binding international treaty. It entered into force on 4 November 2016. Today, 191 Parties (190 countries plus the European Union) have joined the Paris Agreement. The Agreement includes commitments from all countries to reduce their emissions and work together to adapt to the impacts of climate change, and calls on countries to strengthen their commitments over time. The Agreement provides a pathway for developed nations to assist developing nations in their climate mitigation and adaptation efforts while creating a framework for the transparent monitoring and reporting of countries’ climate goals.
  
  Source: United Nations
• What is Carbon Neutrality?
  
  Carbon neutrality is reached when the same amount of CO2 is released into the atmosphere as is removed by various means, leaving a zero balance, also known as a zero carbon footprint (net-zero). Carbon negative means that an activity goes beyond carbon neutrality by eliminating more CO2 than it emits. Carbon positive means that an activity releases more carbon into the atmosphere than it removes or compensates for, producing a negative effect for the planet.
  
  Source: European Parliament
  
• What is Carbon Pricing?
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  Carbon pricing is an instrument that captures the external costs of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions - the costs of emissions that the public pays for, such as damage to crops, health care costs from heat waves and droughts, and loss of property from flooding and sea level rise - and ties them to their sources through a price, usually in the form of a price on the carbon dioxide CO2 emitted. A price on carbon helps shift the burden for the damage from GHG emissions back to those who are responsible for it and who can avoid it.
  
  Source: World Bank
  
• What are Carbon Credits?
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  A carbon credit is a tradable permit or certificate that provides the holder of the credit the right to emit one ton of carbon dioxide or an equivalent of another greenhouse gas – it’s essentially an offset for producers of such gases. The main goal for the creation of carbon credits is the reduction of emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from industrial activities to reduce the effects of global warming. Governments or regulatory authorities set the caps on greenhouse gas emissions. For some companies, the immediate reduction of the emission is not economically viable. Therefore, they can purchase carbon credits to comply with the emission cap. Companies that achieve the carbon offsets (reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases) are usually rewarded with additional carbon credits. The sale of credit surpluses may be used to subsidize future projects for the reduction of emissions. The introduction of such credits was ratified in the Kyoto Protocol. The Paris Agreement validates the application of carbon credits and sets the provisions for the further facilitation of the carbon credits markets.
  
  Source: Corporate Finance Institute
  
• What is a Carbon Offset?
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  A carbon offset broadly refers to a reduction in GHG emissions – or an increase in carbon storage (e.g., through land restoration or the planting of trees) – that is used to compensate for emissions that occur elsewhere. The key concept is that offset credits are used to convey a net climate benefit from one entity to another. From a climate change perspective, the effects are the same if an organization: (a) ceases an emission-causing activity; or (b) enables an equivalent emission-reducing activity somewhere else in the world. Carbon offsets are intended to make it easier and more cost-effective for organizations to pursue the second option.
  
  Source: Carbon Offset Guide
  
• What are Exponential Technologies?
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  Exponential technologies are those which are rapidly accelerating and shaping major industries and all aspects of our lives. Exponential technologies include artificial intelligence (AI), augmented and virtual reality (AR, VR), data science, digital biology and biotech, medicine, nanotech and digital fabrication, networks and computing systems, robotics, and autonomous vehicles.
  
  Source: Singularity University
  
• What is an NFT?
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  Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are secure digital assets/contracts/files which validate ownership on the blockchain system. They can be used as a means of exchangeable and tradable asset such as videos, art, collectable cards, virtual real estate and even digital fashion. One of the main benefits of owning a digital collectible versus a physical collectible is that each NFT consumes far less carbon than tangible collectables, contains distinct information to any other NFT and is easily verifiable. Unlike regular cryptocurrencies, NFTs cannot be directly exchanged with one another as each one is unique – even those that exist on the same platform, game or collection.
  
• What is Polygon?
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  Polygon is a protocol and a framework for building and connecting Ethereum-compatible blockchain networks. Aggregating scalable solutions on Ethereum supporting a multi-chain Ethereum ecosystem. Minting via Polygon allows for carbon admissions to be lowered by 99.8% using proof-of-stake instead of proof-of-work.
  
  Source: Polygon Technology