AI-Blockchain Platform to Help Countries Track Carbon Emissions & Meet Climate Goals

The Green Economy Partnership (GEP) and technology firm TRST01 have collaborated to develop an AI-powered, blockchain-based platform called the Paris Agreement Implementation Platform (PAIP), for implementing the Paris Agreement.

The platform addresses a critical shortcoming of the 2015 Paris Agreement—the lack of a uniform, technology-based mechanism for measuring and recording tamper-proof and accurate carbon footprints in national emission registers. This lack has historically hindered environment conservation and fair trade in carbon credits.

PAIP is designed to combine National Emission Registers and Carbon Registries, moving beyond mere compliance with current Paris Agreement reporting frameworks. Instead, it seeks to create AI-backed automation and new standards for transparency and efficiency in international climate action.

Digital Paradigm Shift

The platform marks a paradigm shift from outdated, manual reporting methods to a fully integrated digital ecosystem. By harnessing the dual power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Blockchain, PAIP addresses critical gaps in the current climate governance framework.

The AI components are multifaceted. Generative AI will automate the creation of complex mandatory reports, such as Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) and Long-Term Strategies (LTS). This automation is expected to ensure accuracy while saving governments significant time and resources. Meanwhile, the Predictive AI will be utilised to empower policymakers, allowing them to model and assess their national decarbonisation pathways. It will also enable the analysis of emitter trajectories and the calculation of essential data points, including Grid Emission Factors, Residual Mix, and Global Warming Potential (GWP), thereby facilitating more informed and strategic climate policy.

The platform’s integrity is underpinned by an immutable blockchain foundation. This distributed ledger technology is crucial for guaranteeing the integrity of climate data by creating a tamper-proof and fully auditable record for all national emissions data and carbon transactions. This directly addresses longstanding issues of fraud and double counting that have plagued carbon markets.

Enhancing Climate Transparency

Existing systems often suffer from inconsistencies and vulnerabilities, obstructing climate action.

According to a study published in the journal Sustainability on June 2020, a blockchain application can enhance transparency and increase automation, thereby eliminating information asymmetry.

According to the World Bank’s Climate Warehouse initiative, which develops digital tools to track carbon emissions and credits, the PAIP platform ensures that each country maintains control over its own environmental data.

International frameworks like the Climate Action Data Trust (CAD Trust), which uses blockchain technology to create a decentralised record of carbon market activities, support the idea of data sovereignty. By enabling nations to keep control over their carbon data, complying with national laws, and avoiding problems like double counting in carbon markets, this system improves transparency and trust.