When United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said recently that “the era of global boiling has arrived,” it put a sharp point on something we've known for a long time but seem unwilling to collectively acknowledge:
The extreme heat, raging forest fires, flash flooding, landslides, hurricanes, and other extreme weather events are not some aberration. They are the new normal.
At the same time, the gap between rich and poor has never been so wide. This is creating a slew of problems, from the birth of extreme nationalist movements and marginalisation of minorities to severe environmental degradation and irresponsible exploitation of resources. And the looming threat of AI threatens to widen the gap even further.
Web3 regenerative finance (ReFi) is here to change that.
ReFi, while relatively new, is an effort by a passionate community to provide actionable solutions to the societal and environmental ills created by our economic system. It aims to do this by using economic and financial mechanisms to incentivise sustainable and impactful behaviour - a departure from the traditional "feel-good" donation and action model.
We believe in the potential of ReFi to make a difference, and we want to give it every chance to succeed. Which is why we're creating an information platform, called CARBON Copy.
Through CARBON Copy, we want to:
- Provide a source of information for all of the stakeholders in ReFi
- Build a community of scientists, climate defenders, builders, economists, and anyone else who wants to make this journey with us
- Hold projects accountable to their impact claims
- Collaborate with partners to build a strong, healthy ReFi ecosystem
These are lofty goals, to be sure, but we are confident in the collaborative nature of ReFi projects and communities to join us for the ride. Societal and climate change is a collective effort, so if we don't work together, we won't be able to achieve the same level of impact.
The face of our information platform is carboncopy.news. On the site, you'll find:
- Reports, features, and analyses backed by research
- Interviews with thought leaders connected to ReFi
- Impact evaluation framework to measure projects
- List of the top ReFi projects based on our evaluation framework
- Platform for ReFi projects to share their news
- Database of ReFi projects and associated data such as media coverage and funding
Things are still very much a work in progress. We continue to enrich the platform daily, but it will take time for it to mature into the platform we know it can be. Over the coming months, you can expect a host of new features as we build out the platform:
- Searchable database of ReFi projects
- State of ReFi report for 2023
- Project analysis and evaluation
- A ReFi-themed newsletter
For the time being, we want to keep CARBON Copy free for all. We do, however, envision implementing a subscription feature that enables access to certain types of content.
And with that, welcome to CARBON Copy. If you want to change the world for the better, helping us build the platform, or simply want to stay up to date with what we're doing, head on over to our Discord to join the community. We'd love for you to be involved.
Sincerely,
CARBON Copy Editor
