CENTRAL BANKS AND BLOCKCHAINS: THE CASE FOR MANAGING CLIMATE RISK WITH A POSITIVE CARBON PRICE
Abstract
A central problem of the climate crisis is a need to mobilize sufficient climate finance to generate a low-carbon transition, and to do so quickly enough to “…prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system” (UNFCCC, 1992). In response to this challenge, a case is presented for a coordinated central bank policy that involves a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) for rewarding climate mitigation actions. Justification for the CBDC is framed on a new model for costing externalities and pricing systemic risk. A hypothetical 100-year storyline, called ‘Avoiding Catastrophe’, is used to illustrate how the CBDC could be used to mobilize trillions of dollars of new climate finance and to manage climate risk. Effectiveness of the CBDC reward is appraised by comparing the 100-year storyline with a speech given by Mark Carney—the Governor of the Bank of England—titled ‘Resolving the climate paradox’. A technical brief is provided for a CBDC platform, including recommendations for blockchain ledgers, smart contracts, rules and strategies for ensuring accountability and scalability.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978012814447300015X
The Silver Gun Hypothesis is an untested theory that multi-cellular organisms, human beings, and economies have characteristic energy performances and probabilistic effects on carbon in the environment. These performances and probabilistic effects are termed ‘thermodynamic skills’. According to the hypothesis, these skills are inherent to natural multi-agent systems and certain of these skills have ‘agency’ to influence the Earth’s carbon balance. The hypothesis presents a matrix of all plausible ‘thermodynamic skills’ that can emerge from multi-agent systems, and it proposes that the existing economy does not have the agency that is needed to achieve global carbon neutrality for a safe climate. The matrix of thermodynamic skills indicates that the agency that is actually required for global carbon neutrality can be developed through a parallel economy for abating and sequestering carbon and coordinating markets. The hypothesis concludes that humanity has a cognitive ‘blind spot’ with regards to identifying and understanding the various kinds of thermodynamic agency that can exist to influence the Earth’s carbon balance.
The Silver Gun Hypothesis: New Model for a Sustainable Carbon Economy
For a long time the theory of economic value supported the argument that it arises from natural scarcity — however since its inception the Federal Reserve System system has continuously proved that in theoretical terms there need not be a natural scarcity assumption, and that we can safely assume that controlling the supply of money works just fine — HOWEVER, in addition to the money supply, there are other self-regulating mechanisms which arise nicely in capitalistic frameworks in the form of government regulated, technological progress…
By rate limiting tech progress to gain an OPEC-like advantage over ai tech advancement ‘supply’, this if we mint new (for instance) Facebook-Libra-Coins with a specific $:Libra ratio, where each Libra = open market purchase price of AI and Robotics tech, then the coin becomes “backed by” AI-data-metrics. See https://cloud.google.com/solutions/ai/
While I use Facebook’s widely publicized new crypto venture Libra for example only — it’s also true that in terms of practically implementing such a plan, this would be a perfect opportunity to “bail-out” fossil-fuel stakeholders as court cases pile up against the industry in countries across the world — thus it’s very clear to me that fossil fuel interests are likely to never again see an opportunity for ROI, as it is with Trump’s White House, and this industry is otherwise likely to collapse global stock markets by weight of lawsuits.
Facebook had previously established the Libra Association to oversee the currency, founded by 28 members in Geneva, Switzerland:
* Payments: Mastercard, PayPal, PayU, Stripe, Visa Inc.
* Technology and marketplaces: Booking Holdings, eBay, Facebook’s subsidiary Calibra,[ Farfetch, Lyft, MercadoPago, Spotify, Uber
* Telecommunications: Iliad SA, Vodafone
* Blockchain: Anchorage, Bison Trails, Coinbase, Xapo
* Venture capital: Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough Initiatives, Ribbit Capital, Thrive Capital, Union Square Ventures
* Nonprofit and multilateral organizations, and academic institutions: Creative Destruction Lab, Kiva, Mercy Corps, Women’s World Banking
The association hopes to grow to 100 members with an equal vote, while Facebook expects to “maintain a leadership role through 2019”.
As you may be unaware of the sense of urgency among over 99% of the world’s scientists, please consider the following:
on 6 May 2019 by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, on the global state of biodiversity. The report found that —
1. Due to human impact on the environment in the past half-century, the Earth’s biodiversity has suffered a catastrophic decline unprecedented in human history.
2. An estimated 82 percent of wild mammal biomass has been lost
3. An estimated 40 percent of amphibians are threatened with extinction
4. An estimated 33 percent of reef-building corals are threatened with extinction
5. An estimated 33 percent of marine mammals are threatened with extinction
6. An estimated 10 percent of all insects are threatened with extinction
7. In total, an estimated 1 million species are threatened with extinction
On May 13th 2019 the Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii CO2 level measured 415 ppm. Meteorologist Eric Holthaus said:
* “This is the first time in human history our planet’s atmosphere has had more than 415 ppm CO2,”
* “Not just in recorded history, not just since the invention of agriculture 10,000 years ago. Since before modern humans existed millions of years ago. We don’t know a planet like this.”
The Great Barrier Reef, a World Heritage Site has already been largely destroyed by hot ocean temperatures:
“The 36-month heatwave and global bleaching event were exceptional in a variety of ways. For many reefs, this was the first time on record that they had experienced bleaching in two consecutive years. Many reefs—including those in Guam, American Samoa, and Hawaii—experienced their worst bleaching ever documented. In the Northern Line Islands in the South Pacific, upwards of 98 percent of the coral at some reefs were killed. Reefs in the northern part of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef that had never bleached before lost nearly 30 percent of their shallow water corals in 2016, while reefs a bit farther south lost another 22 percent in 2017.”
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978012814447300015X
OVERVIEW OF THE LIBRA COIN
Facebook had previously established the Libra Association to oversee the currency, founded by 28 members in Geneva, Switzerland:
* Payments: Mastercard, PayPal, PayU, Stripe, Visa Inc.
* Technology and marketplaces: Booking Holdings, eBay, Facebook’s subsidiary Calibra,[ Farfetch, Lyft, MercadoPago, Spotify, Uber
* Telecommunications: Iliad SA, Vodafone
* Blockchain: Anchorage, Bison Trails, Coinbase, Xapo
* Venture capital: Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough Initiatives, Ribbit Capital, Thrive Capital, Union Square Ventures
* Nonprofit and multilateral organizations, and academic institutions: Creative Destruction Lab, Kiva, Mercy Corps, Women’s World Banking
The association hopes to grow to 100 members with an equal vote, while Facebook expects to “maintain a leadership role through 2019”.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libra_(cryptocurrency)
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