The viewpoints presented in this article reflect diverse opinions and do not represent the stance of “WEB3+.”
Achieving Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Becomes a Global Goal
In recent years, climate change has become a pressing concern for everyone. Environmental issues, advocated by individuals and groups for years, have now been integrated into national security policies by governments worldwide. “Net Zero Emissions by 2050” has been established as a common goal for 130 countries globally. This goal is supported by policy amendments, with Taiwan’s “2050 Net Zero Emissions Pathway and Strategy Overview,” announced two years ago, setting the direction for the country’s future efforts on this issue.
Among the 12 key strategies, green finance is included. The Financial Supervisory Commission has proposed several Green Finance Action Plans, from 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 to the recently announced Green and Transition Finance Action Plan. These plans emphasize the importance of leveraging the power of financial markets to guide businesses in valuing net-zero transitions and addressing climate change. Many industries are exploring the use of blockchain’s efficient and immutable data exchange characteristics to build future green supply chain finance service platforms.
Can Blockchain Financial Innovation Emerge in Sustainability Issues?
Enterprises today are increasingly balancing ESG (Environmental Protection, Social Responsibility, Corporate Governance) with profitability in their product and service offerings. How financial services can align with these goals to ensure the shared development of society and the planet is a key reason why green finance has become a critical innovation keyword in the financial industry in recent years.
The pilot use of blockchain in financial data exchange has been in practice for years. Why is ESG more suitable?
Upgrading traditional financial systems often takes a long time, and transferring and redefining large volumes of old data is challenging. The relatively conservative and cautious financial industry faces high risks in trying blockchain. However, product carbon footprint and corporate environmental data evaluation represent new data categories involving cross-disciplinary data exchange. Blockchain technology, with its data transparency, transaction efficiency, and trust mechanisms, can enter enterprises with less friction, leveraging its advantages.
Supply chain finance is also an area for green finance development. Every stage of a product or service, from raw materials, procurement, manufacturing, packaging, transportation to usage and recycling, contributes significantly to environmental harm. If banks can incorporate ESG standards into financing services across these processes, it can drive enterprises towards achieving net-zero emissions.
Currently, the amount of green credit/sustainable-linked loans has grown significantly, driven by supervisory authorities like the Financial Supervisory Commission. However, the effectiveness of carbon reduction remains opaque and inefficient. Defining principles for the use and review of funds like green credit, sustainable performance-linked loans, and social responsibility credit, and utilizing technologies like blockchain for transparent information disclosure and transmission, is the best way to use finance to drive industry carbon reduction.
Thus, the application of blockchain technology in sustainability issues, particularly in finance and supply chain fields, presently shows more concrete developments in the following two areas:
Green Supply Chain Traceability: Blockchain can build a data system for supply chains, creating traceable records for raw materials, energy use, and emission data at each stage of the supply chain. This ensures environmental compliance throughout the supply chain, allowing investors and financial institutions to assess whether a supply chain meets ESG standards and reward compliant companies with more favorable financing options, promoting the integration of sustainability concepts into production and manufacturing.
Transparency and Auditing of ESG Sustainability Reports: Companies aiming to meet ESG standards can upload related data and reports to the blockchain. This allows third-party audits to be more efficient, and environmental data and carbon reduction progress can be made public, providing investors or banks with reliable ESG data. This enables more accurate evaluations of a company’s environmental performance and sustainability, encouraging capital flow to companies with high environmental standards.
These pilot programs are quietly being carried out among the Taiwanese government, enterprises, and startups. In addition to large companies with more resources conducting internal reforms, government agencies are also guiding over 1.6 million SMEs, which form the backbone of Taiwan’s economy, in adopting ESG measures. This includes establishing supply chain finance service platforms under the guidance of the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Small and Medium Enterprise Administration and innovative entrepreneurs.
For more information, one of the six selected topics at the Blockchain Enthusiast Annual Conference: “dESG: How Decentralized Technology Supports Green Finance,” invites experts and practitioners to delve into case studies on the two major areas mentioned above, exploring new prospects for blockchain technology in the global wave.
Agenda and Registration Information:
9th Blockchain Enthusiast Annual Conference “Cross x Diversity”
? Conference Website: https://www.chain.tw/9tbs
? Conference Dates: 11/18 (Mon) 13:00 ~ 17:30｜11/19 (Tue) 09:00 ~ 17:30
? Conference Venue: NCCU Public Affairs Center 2F｜6F｜7F (No. 187, Jinhua St., Da’an Dist., Taipei City)
? Registration Website: https://www.accupass.com/go/9tbs
The viewpoints presented in this article reflect diverse opinions and do not represent the stance of “WEB3+.”
Reviewed by Editor: Li Peng-rui