This week in Rome, at the headquarters of the Italian Space Agency, a new project is being launched: “Nature-Based Business Model and Emerging Innovations to enhance Carbon Farming Initiatives (CFIs) while preserving Biodiversity, Water Security and Soil Health”, (INNO4CFIs. This is a carbon farming initiative aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The University of Salamanca participates in this important initiative through the BISITE Research Group. I attended the kick-off meeting together with my colleagues Marta Plaza and Diego Valdeolmillos, members of the BISITE group, as the University of Salamanca will oversee the development of tasks related to Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence. The implementation of green blockchain technologies, the establishment of methods that favour the security and efficiency of transactions, the exchange of carbon credits, the signing of smart contracts and the creation of a certification scheme for carbon credits are some of the challenges to be addressed by the BISITE Research Group.
The INNO4CFIs project, coordinated by Fondazione E. Amaldi, with a budget of almost €10 million funded through the new Interregional Innovation Investments, aims to promote reforestation practices to increase CO2 absorption, while favouring crucial environmental co-benefits such as sustainable freshwater production, drylands and soil restoration and biodiversity promotion, and aims to finance the promotion of highly innovative technologies promoted by SMEs through a cascading system that will finance a minimum of 42 companies.
It is an initiative that combines sustainability, traceability, and security to make the process of trading carbon credits more efficient. It is a big challenge for the BISITE group and the other project partners. However, the extensive experience of our researchers and the constant training of professionals in degrees such as the Master in Smart Cities of the University of Salamanca, will contribute to the development of new ideas aimed at better efficiency in cities and, therefore, quality of life of their inhabitants. Thanks to our extensive experience we will be able to successfully meet the objectives set out in the project.
