Ripple, an American enterprise blockchain and crypto solutions company, has set aside $100m to accelerate carbon removal activities to limit the rise of global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The California-headquartered company recently closed a private buy-back of stocks it sold during its December 2019 Series C funding round , thereby putting the company’s valuation at $15 billion.
According to the company, the new fund will help to modernize carbon markets through investments in innovative carbon removal companies and climate-focused financial technology companies.
Ripple announced the investment on Thursday in a press statement.
“Ripple will also build a portfolio of additive, long-term, nature and science-based carbon credits, some of which will be used to meet its own commitment to achieve net zero by 2030 or sooner,” the company said in the statement.
It added, “In addition, the funding will continue to support new functionality and developer tools that enable carbon credit tokenization as core non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the XRP Ledger (XRPL)."
The Focus of the Fund
Ripple said the $100 million will be used to focus on key initiatives as part of its commitment to the sustainability of our planet.
The tech company listed some of these initiatives to include building a portfolio of high-quality, existing and future carbon credits to help capitalize on the most impactful and scalable carbon removal methodologies and projects.
In addition, the fund will be used to invest in innovative carbon-removal technology companies and market makers utilizing blockchain, crypto and other financial technology to accelerate supply and unlock exponential value for both buyers and suppliers.
Additionally, the amount will also be used to support new functionality and fund developer tools for creators and developers focusing on carbon markets solutions and carbon credit NFTs on the XRPL.
With the fund, Ripple intends to continue its partnership with top climate and conservation organizations to develop new methodologies for carbon removal.
This will work alongside distributed stakeholder-led governance models, thereby helping to create greater fairness, revenue, and equity for suppliers, especially in developing economies, the company said.
‘A Global Call to Action’
According to Brad Garlinghouse, the Chief Executive Officer of Ripple, blockchain and crypto can play a catalytic role in allowing carbon markets to reach their full potential by “bringing more liquidity and traceability to a fragmented, complex market.”
“Our $100 million commitment is a direct response to the global call to action for companies to help address climate change by deploying resources, including innovative technology, strategic capital and talent,” Garlinghouse said.
“While reducing emissions and transitioning to a low-carbon future are paramount, carbon markets are also an important tool for meeting climate goals,” he added.
Meanwhile, in a major effort to increase developments on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), Ripple in March committed one billion XRP to facilitate new use cases on the XRPL, a decentralized public blockchain.
Ripple earlier this month announced its partnership with FINCI, an online global money transfer provider based in Lithuania, to power business-to-business payments through RippleNet’s on-demand liquidity service which leverages XRP for crypto-enabled efficient cross-border payments.
