Polygon Commits $20 Million to Go Carbon Neutral in 2022

The Polygon network has declared its commitment to achieving carbon neutrality and a positive impact on the climate this year. This initiative is outlined in its “Green Manifesto: A Smart Contract with Planet Earth.” As part of its efforts, the layer-two Ethereum scaling solution has pledged $20 million to offset its carbon footprint, allowing individuals to purchase additional credits to become carbon negative. The manifesto emphasizes the accountability of every non-fungible token (NFT), decentralized finance (DeFi) trade, and bridging token created on Polygon for its environmental impact.

Polygon’s strategy involves supporting ecosystem partners in reducing their carbon footprint and providing the necessary infrastructure and finances for those looking to offset their environmental impact. The network also plans to assist NGOs dedicated to combating climate change.

The company asserts that the “Green Manifesto” aligns with the core principles of Web 3, placing freedom at its center and recognizing climate change as a significant threat to liberty.

In collaboration with KlimaDAO and Offsetra, Polygon aims to implement on-chain carbon offsetting technology and a carbon intensity measurement tool, respectively. This partnership aims to establish a comprehensive management strategy by analyzing emissions from staking node hardware, bridging activities, and energy consumption related to interactions with the Ethereum Mainnet.

Polygon recently released an emissions analysis revealing that 99% of its emissions result from checkpointing and bridging activities associated with transactions on the Ethereum Mainnet. The network reported a total emission of 90,645 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) from February 2021 to February 2022, positioning Polygon alongside major companies like Microsoft and Deloitte.

These initiatives coincide with Polygon’s recent developments, including the introduction of Polygon ID, an identity verification platform powered by zero-knowledge (ZK) cryptography. This service, leveraging the iden3 decentralized identity protocol, enables blockchain applications to authenticate user data while safeguarding sensitive information, marking a significant step in Polygon’s ongoing advancements.