A digital contract for restoration of the Earth System mediated by a Planetary Boundary Exchange Unit

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a new governance paradigm for managing the Earth System based on a digital contract inspired on blockchain technology. This proposal allows for a radical decentralisation of the procedures of controlling, maintaining and restoring ecosystems by a set of networks willing to engage in improving the operational conditions of local ecosystems so to contribute to an optimal functioning of the Earth System. These procedures are aimed to improve local Planetary Boundary parameters so that they approach the optimal Holocene reference values, the so-called Safe Operating Space, via a reciprocal validation process and an exchange unit that internalises the state of the Earth System.

GREEN MARBLE 2022. Estudos sobre o Antropoceno e Ecocrítica / Studies on the Anthropocene and Ecocriticism

“…Of course, the unequivocal evidence that a serious climate change crisis is under way, demands for a clear and determined global action to avert the unfolding catastrophe. This situation calls for stewardship measures either through global actions (see for a thorough discussion Henry, Rockström & Stern, Eds., 2020) or via the multiplication of local efforts to restore land and ocean ecosystems (Bertolami & Francisco, 2021). Most certainly, these matters require a wide discussion and must be properly related with the broad socio-economic and political issues of our time (Bertolami, 2021).…”

Greening the Anthropocene

“…As an example of a completely different approach let us mention the proposal of boosting the recover of ecosystems through of a digital contract using the most recent blockchain techniques and the exchange of a new cryptocurrency, the Planetary Boundary coin (PBCoin) (Bertolami & Francisco, 2021).…”

“…Figure 4: The Planetary Boundary Exchange Unit is established through a decentralized digital contract between the local nodes. Each participant must have its PB Quota evaluated in order to assign the initial amount of PBCoin (Bertolami & Francisco, 2021).…”

“…Figure5: Sketch sequence of the transactions for a member of the network executing restoring actions on another node-member, with a set of third-nodes in the network validating the proof-of-work(Bertolami & Francisco, 2021).…”