EthaverseDAO Whitepaper pt.1
Contextualizing the climate crisis
Today, we face one of the most significant environmental crises in our recorded history. According to recent studies, air pollution caused by carbon emissions is slowly killing about 4.2 million people a year worldwide In addition, growing energy demand and efforts to combat climate change require a significant increase in low-carbon electricity production.
The pollution of the planet and its constant deterioration are causing disasters. Not only are fossil fuels being depleted, but there are simultaneous negative impacts on the earth regarding the atmosphere, natural ecosystems, freshwater sources, and soil. Therefore, we cannot rely solely on fossil fuels to generate power, and we need alternative energy sources. Renewable energies are becoming increasingly crucial for our planet, and this concept has garnered widespread support across all sectors and industries across the globe, as seen in the recent outcomes and commitments in the United Nations COP26 and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Global collaboration and commitment to change
The UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26) brought together 120 world leaders, global media coverage, and >40 000 registered participants. The world was captivated by the undertakings, the lessons learnt regarding the evolution of science for solutions, the political will to act, and clear indications of leadership action for change (United Nations, 2021).
The conference recognized the state of emergency faced by the plant in not achieving targets set by the Paris Agreement to maintain global average temperatures below 2°C (Target set at 1.1°C of the current temperature rise is due to human activities, including the generation of power through coalfired power stations which make up the majority of global supply (UN, 2021).
Based on these facts, the Glasgow Climate Pact was born as a primary outcome of the COP26. The pact defines vital building blocks to achieving the Paris Agreement targets and correcting the current trajectory. These building blocks include:
1. Recognizing the state of emergency
2. Accelerating action
3. Moving away from fossil fuels
4. Delivering on climate finance
5. Stepping up support for adaptation
6. Completing the Paris rulebook
7. Focusing on loss and damage
In line with these building blocks, EthaVerseDAO aims to spearhead items 2 and 3 directly in the short run, through Web3 technology and the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), as outlined in the series of medium articles to follow.
The greenhouse effect and immediate countermeasures
By burning fossil fuels for economic development, humanity has significantly increased its carbon dioxide emissions. This is one of the predominant drivers of the greenhouse effect and, therefore, one of the reasons for global warming and, of course, climate change. Decarbonization requires an energy transition, also commonly referred to by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) as “just transition to a green economy”, a structural shift that removes carbon from energy production in totality (Gass et al., 2021). This would allow for economic electrification based on renewable energy sources, which the earth can fully absorb with a negative impact.
Perhaps the greatest challenge of an efficient energy transition is the complete decarbonization of the electricity sector. Such a transition requires an entire shift from fossil fuel (carbon-based energy generation) to readily available renewable energy sources and technologies such a photovoltaic cells/solar plants, which harness what is readily available at our disposal with zero impact on the atmosphere. As a result of new technological developments and economies of scale by organizations such as Tesla, for example, these solar technologies are now ubiquitous and economically viable for global adoption.
EthaVerse rationale and conceptual overview
Essential to creating a greener planet for generations to come is selecting the right combination of technologies and introducing measures to continuously monitor and adapt to emergent changes with balanced outcomes for both consumers and the environment.
Proactive assessments of possible future scenarios and subsequent impact should be undertaken, and clear plans designed to prevent any unwanted negative consequences of such a just transition. However, as clearly outlined by COP26, without accelerated action and drastic, deliberate movement away from fossil fuels, the achievement of the Paris Agreements average temperature rise is moving further out of reach, and so too our planet as we know it (UN, 2021).
However, investing in clean energy must increase overall energy efficiency and energy saving. Innovative green energy solutions have fundamentally changed how we generate, distribute, store, and consume our energy. However, the application of these technologies has not yet reached a point where its application outweighs coal-fired power generation. Many countries have invested heavily in these obsolete, capital-intensive energy sources, where the network effects and sunken costs alone are a challenge to overcome from the renewable energy sectors perspective. As a result, the just transition has been lethargic at best until now.
Due to recent technological developments, Web3 has emerged, making it possible for projects like EthaVerse to generate a significant impact through liquidity mechanisms. As a result, participants of the EthaVerse community will not only be stimulated financially but will, more importantly, be able to contribute to solving perhaps the most acute crisis faced by our planet in history. Unfortunately, as indicated by the multitudes of attempts at driving change over the last century, governments have failed to address the significance of this crisis.
This situation, combined with the developments in decentralized finance and Web3, has unlocked opportunities for the global community to link arms and take collective action by creating an organization as a catalyst for transformational change on a global scale. Moreover, with targeted policies and investments, clean energy can provide new economic opportunities for the global community.
The main focus of our project is the just transition and to increase the rate of change towards our ultimate goal of zero-emission energy generation. The mechanism behind achieving this is unique and involves backing our DAO treasury by Renewable Energy Credits (also known as Renewable Energy Certificates RECs, such as GO (Europe), i-REC (Asia, South America), UK REGO (UK) for example (Fullarton, 2018).
EthaVerse DAO Tokenomics
EthaVerse is a decentralized autonomous organization where all community members will participate in the decision-making processes affecting the project’s future. We aim to create a revolutionary impact towards a greener planet through inclusion, collective intelligence and cultures, and complete dedication to the cause.
Integrating this idea will involve Web3 smart contracts, which will transparently and securely govern transactions on blockchain infrastructure. Therefore, EthaVerse is introducing ETHA tokens which will be backed by RECs in the EthaVerse treasury after DAI. The ETHA token will launch on the Avalanche (AVAX) network introducing staking and bonding rewards to its contributors.
The EthaVerse treasury will be building its liquidity through bonding, investments into other DeFi and DeFI 2.0 tokens, as well as accredited renewable energy companies and build its own green energy that will be used to exchange for tokens. The following stages describe how will this work:
-Bonding - Selling bonds to EthaVerse members for DAI in exchange for ETHA tokens which will be allocated in the treasury. EthaVerse members will have the opportunity to participate in the purchasing of ETHA at a discounted price in exchange for tokens contributing towards the ETHA treasury. Thus, such contributions help the protocol to own its own liquidity pool.
-RECs funding — EthaVerse treasury will be distributing funds to purchase RECs on the US market as we as GO (Europe), i-REC(Asia, South America),UK REGO (UK)). Renewable energy market was valued at 9.3$ billion in 2020 and is projected to reach 103.3$ billion by 2030. Thus, our community will not only contribute towards cleaner environment but also would benefit substantially from the project investments.
-RECs Monetization — Purchased RECs will be deposited as assets into the treasury in order to build a solid and liquid protocol.
-Funding Renewable Energy Projects — The treasury will be investing in high-liquid low risk accredited projects contributing towards the industry development.
-Investing in DeFi — EthaVerse will be investing in DeFi Projects contributing to green energy. As a start the treasury will be funding other DeFi and Defi 2.0 tokens through staking. All proceedings will go towards the ETHA treasury.
-ETHA Purchases — Everybody will be able to purchase ETHA tokens that build the treasury
Conclusion
DeFi has emerged and has made it possible for project like EthaVerse to create a greater impact with sufficient liquidity. Moreover, participants of our community will not only be greatly incentivized but also would contribute to a great cause for the planet. Governments have failed to address the greatness of the crises our planet is faced with which has forced us to take collective action and create an organization where people’s opinion matter. EthaVerse will revolutionize the industry and make possible for community driven project to have a real world impact.
Final notes
In our next article we will announce more information regarding our NFT sale for whitelist members as well as launch dates. We will be also discussing more details regarding the roadmap of EthaVerse project as well as the upcoming game. Stay tuned in our Discord Channel.
Discord: https://discord.gg/Q5b922tk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EthaVerseDAO/
