Chia Collaboration with the World Bank Group (WBG)

Joint efforts for a stable climate

The climate situation is changing before our eyes - unfortunately for the worse. We must take swift corrective actions, and that's exactly what's happening. Countries committed to the Paris Agreement are collaborating to fulfill their commitments regarding global climate optimization. It is estimated that by 2030, these actions will save $250 billion annually while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 5 gigatons per year. Estimates aside, we need to look at the situation soberly - for emission reduction to be effective, it must be credible and comprehensive. However, this remains challenging due to the decentralized, grassroots approach of the Paris Agreement. Differences in legal, technological, and informational systems adopted by individual entities only complicate joint efforts.

To facilitate international collaboration, standardization and integrity of the systems used are essential. This will also increase security and trust among cooperating entities. This is precisely what Climate Warehouse aims to achieve - an initiative of the World Bank Group.

What is the WBG?

The WBG - World Bank Group - is a combination of five international organizations that provide loans to developing countries. It is the most renowned organization of its kind in the world. In 2021 alone, the WBG provided nearly $98.83 billion for development projects. The group consists of specialized UN agencies: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The first two organizations are collectively referred to as the World Bank - this term should not be confused with the broader WBG group.

The World Bank Group is not a bank in the strict sense - it is an institution that provides long-term loans at very favorable interest rates (as well as grants or technical assistance) to the neediest member countries. Its goal is to fight poverty and finance development in various key areas - from health and the environment (such as actions for climate stabilization), through education, to democracy development. The President of the WBG is a US citizen nominated by the President of the United States - since 2019, this position has been held by David R. Malpass.

The funds that enable the provision of loans mainly come from contributions from member countries, but also from issuing bonds on global capital markets. There are 189 member countries - including UN member states and Kosovo, although not all countries participate in all five organizations. Exactly 138 countries are members. For example, Poland is a member of four institutions and is not part of ICSID. From 1990 to 2022, Poland has benefited from $14.7 billion in WBG loans, financing 63 projects in various areas. Currently, the Oder and Vistula flood protection project is being carried out with funds obtained from the World Bank Group.

Climate Warehouse - what does blockchain have to do with it?

One of the key initiatives of the World Bank Group is Climate Warehouse - a public metadata profile that provides information from interconnected registers based on standardized data models. This allows for easy tracking of ongoing projects, important calculations (including those related to greenhouse gas emissions), and any changes made. The World Bank Group has also launched a compatible registration system available to all member countries. To make this system as simplified and integrated as possible, modern blockchain technology was applied.

With blockchain, users of Climate Warehouse connect in a peer-to-peer system. When any changes occur in a registered project, they are noticed and immediately shared across the interconnected systems. This information, added to a new block, is timestamped. Changes are therefore not only easy to track but also irreversible - they cannot be retroactively corrected. Users have 100% confidence that the data they view is trustworthy and verified.

Chia serving the climate

At the end of 2021, the second phase of the project simulation with over 40 stakeholders concluded. National entities, independent certification standards, various institutions, and industrial partners were taken into account. All users could load their data into the system through a special application or API interface and then view the data of other entities and track the changes made. Extensive testing helped improve the peer-to-peer integration.

Currently, the Climate Warehouse project is in the third and final phase of testing, which has been ongoing since January. It is at this stage that the official, active cooperation with Chia Network began. Previous tests were based on Ethereum, Kaleido, and the Hyperledger Foundation platform, but the World Bank wanted to try something else. An open-source, cost-free, publicly accessible blockchain with enhanced security and significantly reduced environmental impact turned out to be a perfect fit. Open-source access, interoperability, and a pro-environmental approach allowed the project to mature fully. The final version of the metadata profile will be released soon, in the second half of 2022.

The potential of blockchain technology

The management structure of Climate Warehouse was established through public consultations organized by IETA, the World Bank Group, and the Singaporean government. Over 70 organizations participated in the discussions. The WBG project is another initiative that reveals the enormous potential of blockchain technology - in this case, for sharing and tracking data related to global climate markets, which becomes available upon registration in the system. Decentralization, security, transparency, inclusivity, irreversibility, and facilitated auditing - these are just some of the benefits offered by blockchain technology, including by Chia Network. The network enables building trust among entities and facilitates international cooperation. 

If we've piqued your curiosity, visit www.theclimatewarehouse.org - there you will find more details about the WBG initiative.