ClimaFi, a leading UK climate industry group has launched a new carbon standard for measuring and reporting carbon sequestration in cannabis cultivation. It’s called The Hemp Carbon Standard and will be utilizing blockchain technology.
Its digital framework will serve as the foundation for reliable carbon accounting and reporting practices, which will in turn help farmers on their side of the equation. They will be able to create reliable surveys, develop weather plans and track progress, ultimately leading to a sustained flow of carbon credits.
“Today’s launch of the Hemp Carbon Standard provides an end-to-end solution to obtain high integrity carbon credits from industrial hemp farming. The revenue derived from this, for farmers, can be significant, and is in addition to the income generated from the crop,” commented Tim de Rosen, ClimaFi’s CEO & Co-Founder.
Hemp is a global crop and is considered to be carbon negative, pulling in more carbon dioxide than it produces during its growth process. Some studies say that it is twice as effective compared to an average number for trees.
At the heart of the new model is a new way of measuring, reporting and verification (MRV). Using data from satellite radar to measure carbon sequestration and supported by ground observations, the numbers become more reliable and auditable, something that has been an issue for projects issuing carbon credits.
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The Hemp Carbon Standard blockchain will contain all of the gathered data and provide a digital way of making sure it is reliable and accurate (dMRV). This is backed up by its technical foundation, which is built on top of Concordium, a L1 blockchain.
Its protocol will provide validation for data on the network, while also using a geo-referenced system for recording hemp crops by assigning a unique Non-Fungible Token (NFT) for each project. AI is also involved in the project and will be put to use for monitoring the growth cycle of each crop from start to finish.
Carbon markets are already alert to the opportunity hemp offers and Martello, a UK-based capital transition firm, launched its first batch of carbon credits earlier this week.
