LONDON, UK | WASHINGTON, DC | OTTAWA, CANADA – 24 April 2020: Advancing its role at the intersection of climate adaptation and disruptive technologies, Adaptation Ledger Ltd. celebrated Earth Week by announcing several developments relating to its leadership activities and team building.  Adaptation Ledger is pioneering the combination of distributed ledger technology and innovation in vulnerability reduction metrics, standards and governance to mobilize finance at scale for climate adaptation solutions.

 

Adaptation Ledger signed an agreement this week to join the Climate-KIC community, the leading climate knowledge and innovation initiative. Climate-KIC works towards a prosperous, inclusive, climate-resilient society founded on a circular, zero-carbon economy and it seeks to catalyse rapid innovation across sectors.   Adaptation Ledger co-founder Karl Schultz notes, “Climate-KIC understands that truly transformational change of global systems is imperative for the climate challenge to be met.  Adaptation Ledger’s ethos and approach is just that, and, with the acceptance of our application, we look forward to working with Climate-KIC to make this happen in the adaptation space.”

 

Adaptation Ledger also announced that it has joined ARISE-Canada, the Canadian chapter of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies, known for short as ARISE. The ARISE-Canada network engages the private sector in implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, an agreement adopted by the international community in 2015.  The initiative aims to leverage business resilience know-how and encourage investment decisions that take disaster risk into account.  As a member of ARISE-Canada,

 

Adaptation Ledger aligns with other participating enterprises and institutions dedicated to enhancing climate resilience and furthers its commitment to ARISE.  Adaptation Ledger has already been participating in ARISE through the sister network, ARISE-US, and last year exhibited at the UN’s Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction international conference in Geneva.

 

Adaptation Ledger also announced this week the addition of Blake Gentry as an Associate to assist in the commercialization of digital applications for climate adaptation opportunities such as coastal resilience and agricultural supply chains. Blake shares our enthusiasm as he joins the team, “I’m delighted to join Adaptation Ledger and support development of the Well Adapted Coffee Supply, along with lending my expertise on policy and governance issues as they relate to local communities around the world.”  Blake is an international program and policy expert with 20 years of experience in indigenous community health, development, and climate change adaptation.  He has served as adjunct faculty and research associate at the University of Arizona, including in the public health, geography and international development, and Mexican-American Studies programs.  A member of the Cherokee Nation, Blake has a portfolio of projects reflecting his interaction with more than fifty indigenous nations, principally in Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, United States and Canada.

 

As Adaptation Ledger continues to build its internal team and engage with these external networks, the enterprise is developing integrations and applications for pilots and scaled-up deployment.  To date, specific applications have focused on coastal resilience and agricultural supply chains.  These are not just technical tools, but are an integrated package to organize adaptation imperatives --- including, better governance and linkages with other SDGs and policy frameworks (e.g., Sendai, TCFD); better mobilizing public finance and leveraging private finance; better monitoring & evaluation to assess adaptation actions; and better incentivizing of sustainable and just adaptations on the ground.

 

Contact: Ira Feldman, info@adaptationledger.com, www.adaptationledger.com

 

Keywords: “climate adaptation” “disaster risk reduction” “blockchain” “distributed ledger” “mobilizing public finance” “monitoring and evaluation”

​

Image credit: NASA.gov

LONDON, UK | WASHINGTON, DC | OTTAWA, CANADA. 22-25 April 2020: Adaptation Ledger participated in the 2020 Open Climate Collabathon Digital Earth Day Launch Event hosted and organized by the Yale Open Lab lead by Martin Wainstein and team.

​

The week featured presentations by global leaders in systems dynamics, sustainable economics, next gen earth systems technologies, governance, net-zero transitions, energy economies, and more. Presentations can be viewed on Collabathon YouTube channel.

 

The 2020 Collabathon is running from April through the Global Climate Collabathon Sprints in November 9-23.

 

Read about the Open Climate Project and the open climate accounting system. 

​

Adaptation Ledger team is hosting one of the prompts and gave a presentation on climate adaptation and accounting during the Saturday, April 25 onboarding sessions.

 

Contact: Lisa Granquist, info@adaptationledger.com, www.adaptationledger.com

 

Keywords: “climate adaptation” “disaster risk reduction” “blockchain” “distributed ledger” “mobilizing public finance” “monitoring and evaluation”

​

Image credit: www.collabation.openclimate.earth/collabathon-2019

LONDON, UK | WASHINGTON, DC | OTTAWA, CANADA. 15-17 Nov 2019: Adaptation Ledger participated in the first annual Open Climate Collabathon hosted and organized by the Yale Open Lab. 350 participants from around the world convened in person at eight "node" locations and formed teams to work on open source digital solutions for 21 prompts focused on a global open climate accounting system. 

​

Adaptation Ledger hosted one of the prompts.

​

Lisa Granquist represented Adaptation Ledger at the Yale University node.

 

Contact: Lisa Granquist, info@adaptationledger.com, www.adaptationledger.com

 

Keywords: “climate adaptation” “disaster risk reduction” “blockchain” “distributed ledger” “mobilizing public finance” “monitoring and evaluation”

​

Image credit: www.collabation.openclimate.earth/collabathon-2019

LONDON, UK | WASHINGTON, DC | OTTAWA, CANADA. 21-22 October 2019:

Lisa Granquist, PhD, presented to the Workshop for the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel of the Global Environment Facility at the Meridian Institute in Washington, DC. "The workshop brought together leading experts in the area of environmental application of blockchain technology to discuss the opportunities that blockchain offers and identify how the GEF can harness them."

 

Contact: Lisa Granquist, info@adaptationledger.com, www.adaptationledger.com

 

Keywords: “climate adaptation” “disaster risk reduction” “blockchain” “distributed ledger” “mobilizing public finance” “monitoring and evaluation”

​

Image credit: https://www.thegef.org/

Quotation credit: Meridian Institute October 2019 draft report, "Harnessing the Benefits of Blockchain for the Delivery of Global Environmental Benefits."

LONDON, UK | WASHINGTON, DC | OTTAWA, CANADA. 23-29 Sept 2019:

Ira Feldman, an Adaptation Ledger principal gave a presentation at Climate Week NYC 2019 in New York City at a Climate Chain Coalition event.

​

Contact: Ira Feldman, info@adaptationledger.com, www.adaptationledger.com

 

Keywords: “climate adaptation” “disaster risk reduction” “blockchain” “distributed ledger” “mobilizing public finance” “monitoring and evaluation”

​

Image credit: The Climate Group, Climate Week NYC 2019

LONDON, UK | WASHINGTON, DC | OTTAWA, CANADA – 1-8 July 2019: Adaptation Ledger hosted a booth participated in a variety of events during “London Climate Week” in July of 2019, including “Finance for Adaptation Solutions & Technologies Roundtable" (FASTR), The International Institute for Environment and Development’s event: “Leading from the front: responding with urgency to the climate emergency”, “How climate resilient are London’s businesses?” at London City Hall, “Raising Climate Ambition/Resilient Future,” at the Royal Institution, and "London Climate Frontiers Forum."

 

Contact: Karl Schultz, info@adaptationledger.com, www.adaptationledger.com

 

Keywords: “climate adaptation” “disaster risk reduction” “blockchain” “distributed ledger” “mobilizing public finance” “monitoring and evaluation”

​

Image credit: www.london.gov

LONDON, UK | WASHINGTON, DC | OTTAWA, CANADA – 18 May 2019

Adaptation Ledger Ltd participates in the UN’s Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction international conference in Geneva.

 

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction hosted the “Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction” in Geneva that brought together 5000 delegates to review progress, share knowledge and discuss the latest developments and trends in reducing disaster risk.  As the climate emergency grows in severity, adaptation has risen in this platform’s agenda.  Adaptation Ledger sees this as a critical platform to engage with in supporting climate adaptation solutions. 

 

Adaptation Ledger was the principal coordinator of the Climate Chain Coalition’s support for two high-level working sessions, participating in the drafting of concept notes and speaker invitations for two panels:  

 

- Unlocking the multiple dividends of resilience

- Risk informed public and private investment

 

During the day, AL’s Principal, Karl Schultz, supported management of the latter panel.

 

Adaptation Ledger also was selected to host a booth in the exhibition’s “Innovation Platform”.  At the platform, we were able to engage with a wide variety of parties to describe the Adaptation Ledger “Ecosystem” and how Adaptation Ledger could transform climate-related Disaster Risk Reduction.

 

Adaptation Ledger also participated in the Annual General Meeting of the UNDRR Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Communities (ARISE). 

 

 

 

Contact: Karl Schultz, info@adaptationledger.com, www.adaptationledger.com

 

Keywords: “climate adaptation” “disaster risk reduction” “blockchain” “distributed ledger” “mobilizing public finance” “monitoring and evaluation”

LONDON, UK | WASHINGTON, DC | OTTAWA, CANADA – 15 April 2019: Adaptation Ledger™ and iDE Canada today announced the launch of a pioneering initiative that applies cutting-edge digital technology and governance innovation to help adapt to climate change. Supported by the RBC Foundation, iDE Canada is working in collaboration with Adaptation Ledger - a unique initiative that enhances climate adaptation solutions by integrating blockchain, smart standards and a unified metric for vulnerability reduction.

​

iDE sees the impact of climate change first-hand in its work with rural communities across Asia, Africa and Central America. Adaptation Ledger’s integrated platform of digital technologies and adaptation governance solutions using the Vulnerability Reduction Credits (VRC™) system has the potential to significantly enhance efforts to build climate resilience in vulnerable communities across the globe and here in Canada.

 

Vulnerability Reduction Credits are an effective, sustainable, systems-based approach to climate adaptation metrics. They make it possible to evaluate the success of specific climate adaptation projects, attribute the credit for measureable improvements to the people and organizations who brought them about, and incentivize the public and private sectors to respond by directing more financing toward those climate adaptation projects that prove most successful.

 

Adaptation Ledger co-founders and principals, Karl Schultz, Ira Feldman and Tom Baumann are leading the design and validation of the Adaptation Ledger platform using data and operational experience from iDE’s work bringing improved agricultural technology, water and sanitation solutions to vulnerable populations.

 

Karl Schultz, also chair of The Higher Ground Foundation and the inventor and manager of the Vulnerability Reduction Credits (VRC) system said, “This pilot application of distributed ledger technology for VRCs promises to validate an approach for all relevant parties involved in adaptation to get their heads around the value of adaptation, activate this value for better

management, evaluation, and finance, and do it in a manner fit for the 21st Century.”

 

Stuart Taylor, iDE Canada’s CEO said, “We are excited to work with Adaptation Ledger to leverage our on-the-ground experience to explore the potential for disruptive technologies like blockchain to deliver greater value to smallholder farmers.”

 

Tom Baumann, who is also co-founder of ClimateCHECK and the Climate Chain Coalition, said, “There is an urgent need to mobilize adaptation finance, and digital solutions can provide many benefits to enhance climate actions. We are appreciative of the RBC Foundation’s support and are eager to work with such clean finance leaders to advance innovative and collaborative solutions integrating sustainability, finance, technology, and governance.”

 

Also advising on this phase of Adaptation Ledger’s activities is IOTA, a ground-breaking open source distributed ledger to power the “Internet of Things.” Julie Maupin, Director of Social Impact and Regulatory Affairs, said, “Applying distributed ledger technology to climate change problems is a game changer. The breakthrough here is the integrated approach in which what’s actually happening on the ground can be measured in real time, so that climate financing can be directed to the projects and places where it’s having the greatest positive impact on the lives of vulnerable populations. IOTA believes this work, beginning now with the current phase, has the real potential to re-shape how we all think about climate services for adaptation and resilience. We look forward to contributing to this phase, the results of which will pave the way for further collaboration."

 

The pilot project validation process will engage a global network of experts across adaptation monitoring and evaluation, data, finance, governance, standards and digital technologies. Adaptation Ledger will announce the results of the pilot project during Climate Week in New York in September 2019.

 

About iDE

iDE Canada creates income and livelihood opportunities in developing countries around the world. With access to the right products, services and advice, farmers can transform their small farms into small businesses. In partnership with programs around the world, iDE has empowered 30 million people so far. iDE Canada is a registered Canadian charity based in Winnipeg, Canada.

 

About Adaptation Ledger 

Adaptation Ledger advances climate adaptation solutions to help mobilize finance through the integration of blockchain, smart standards and a unified metric for vulnerability reduction.

Adaptation Ledger taps world-leading professionals in the sustainability, adaptation, standards and climate fields and associate with the institutions that have the financial, intellectual, and human resources to move faster and scale globally.

​

About IOTA

IOTA is a not-for-profit foundation incorporated and registered in Germany. The IOTA Foundation’s mission is to support the development and standardization of new distributed ledger technologies (DLT), specifically the IOTA Tangle. The IOTA Tangle is an innovative type of DLT specifically designed for the Internet of Things (IoT) environment. It is an open-source protocol facilitating novel Machine-to-Machine (M2M) interactions, including secure data transfer, fee-less real-time micropayments, and the collection and dissemination of sensor-based and other data. For more information, visit: www.iota.org

​

Contact: Ira Feldman, info@adaptationledger.com, www.adaptationledger.com 

​

Image credit: RBC.com

LONDON, UK | WASHINGTON, DC | OTTAWA, CANADA – 28 March 2019: Adaptation Ledger™ announces the addition of leading experts, Lisa Granquist, PhD, for product development and business strategy, and Linus Adler for product app design. They are leading the team’s commercialization of digital applications for coastal resilience and other climate adaptation opportunities.  

 

This augments Adaptation Ledger’s unique combination of expertise, tools and idea collaboration that aims to make climate adaptation work better by integrating blockchain, smart standards and a unified metric for vulnerability reduction.  In its first phase of activities, Adaptation Ledger is currently developing a general application and validating it through a specific application supported by a leading Canadian financial institution.  Adaptation Ledger is pioneering the combination of distributed ledger technology and governance innovation to mobilize finance at scale for climate adaptation solutions. 

 

Dr. Granquist has worked closely over the last two years with Adaptation Ledger principal Ira Feldman while both served as policy co-chairs of the American Society of Adaptation Professionals.  “We are lucky to have someone with Lisa’s depth and breadth of experience in the adaptation field join the Adaptation Ledger team,” explained Feldman, “and she has already helped us advance several of our most important initiatives.”

 

Dr. Granquist’s research focuses on the environmental, legal, regulatory, and economic impacts of coastal shoreline change and coastal resilience strategies, the legal and policy frameworks that could facilitate local and regional resilience adaptation implementation, and the interaction of stakeholders in the adaptation decision-making context. She has advanced climate adaptation partnerships in academia and practice.  Dr. Granquist has worked extensively with international teams in disruptive technology and emerging markets business development and nonprofit management.

 

Linus Adler is strategic climate change/adaptation and clean energy consultant with over a decade of experience in helping clients develop a strategic understanding of the implications of energy and climate policy.  For Adaptation Ledger, he is currently supporting the translation of Higher Ground’s adaptation project software, Vulnerability Reduction Project Manager (VRPM™) into code for a coastal defense app. 

 

As a co-founder and technical manager of the Higher Ground Foundation with Adaptation Ledger principal Karl Schultz, Adler contributed to the initial drafting of the Vulnerability Reduction Credit (VRC™) Standard Framework and has provided technical analysis and modeling of the impacts of climate change develop methods for quantifying project baselines, climate impacts, and project outcomes. “The synergy makes sense for both organizations,” stated Schultz, “With Linus on board, we can effectively leverage our pioneering work on VRCs with Adaptation Ledger’s integrated platform.

​

Tom Baumann, Adaptation Ledger principal, said, “Adaptation Ledger is a very innovative and ambitious initiative. The deep expertise of Lisa and Linus on climate adaptation projects, technologies and standards for VRCs will accelerate design and proof of concept activities for Adaptation Ledger.”

 

About Adaptation Ledger

Adaptation Ledger advances climate adaptation solutions to help mobilize finance through the integration of blockchain, smart standards and a unified metric for vulnerability reduction. Adaptation Ledger taps world-leading professionals in the sustainability, adaptation, standards and climate fields and associate with the institutions that have the financial, intellectual, and human resources to move faster and scale globally.

 

Contact: Ira Feldman, info@adaptationledger.com, www.adaptationledger.com