Stargaze Carbon Neutral Proposal

# Stargaze Carbon Neutral Proposal ## Stargaze is leading the way as a sustainable, **carbon neutral NFT and Smart Contract platform**. This proposal asks for a spend of **78,125 STARS** from the Community Pool to purchase and retire **500 tons** of carbon credits to **offset Stargaze’s 2023 carbon emissions** to continuing being a **carbon neutral blockchain**. If approved, **78,125 STARS** will be transferred to multisig wallet `stars15usuwmqg86h5n3tnvfkqksx6hxqwugtcu9vfps` for the purpose of sending to a Regen Network Development, PBC. (Public Benefit Company) controlled wallet in exchange for **500 NCT** (Nature Carbon Tons) to be retired at Stargaze retirement address `regen1satwv984d3s0kmvnlh4wnf0enh5xwgaq6v7gsc` STARS will be sent in **12 month vesting state**, which will allow for RND, PBC to stake with Stargaze validators, but tokens would not be transferrable until the end of vesting period. > **VOTING YES** - Voting YES to this proposal indicates approval to address **Stargaze**’s carbon emissions footprint by purchasing **Nature Carbon Ton** to offset 2023. > **VOTING NO** - Voting NO to this proposal indicates that this funding should not be allocated. > **VOTING NO WITH VETO** - Voting NO WITH VETO indicates not in support, that a different follow-on proposal should be drafted, and that depositors should lose deposit. > **VOTING ABSTAIN** - Voting ABSTAIN indicates acknowledgement and participation in the governance process, but no opinion is wished to be expressed. ## **Method** * Stargaze blockchain Carbon Footprint was **calculated using [Method #2: Scale of Validator Operations](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H-w4dBc1Svcmw_fzEKUFRgK_pga1qsGMHCTsUKUmWEA)** * Based on feedback from carbon footprint data reported by validators of Regen Network, and applying Method #2, **Stargaze** is projected to emit at most **461.53 tons a year in carbon**, negatively affecting our climate. * Method #2 [calculations done by Bonzi](https://gov.stargaze.zone/discussion/9402-stargaze-carbon-climate-cosmos-zero) * **500 tons** will be used to provide a significant margin of assurance. * NCT will be acquired using [Option 3: Carbon credits direct from Regen Network Development, PBC](https://www.notion.so/Cosmos-ZERO-Achieve-protocol-net-zero-carbon-emissions-while-building-a-carbon-market-in-Cosmos-ddd441e3ff3d4dbda83265433843ec10) where RND, PBC will stake vested STARS received for a 12 month period. * Price of NCT is $2.75: 500 x 2.75 = $1,375 * Price of STARS at time of writing is **$0.0176** and **WILL BE VALUE USED** to exchange for 500 NCT * 78,125 STARS (1,375/0.0176) are requested from Community Pool --- **3/5 Multisig wallet comprised of community members / validators:** Gjermund | EmpowerChain ScottTpirate | Stargaze Community Dan | Qwoyn Studios αlphaβiota | LOA Labs **RND, PBC. representative:** Sarah Baxendell | RND, PBC. --- ## Cross-protocol Collaborations: Stargaze x Regen **Additional context relating to Stargaze NFT community:** The Cosmos ZERO team plans to **mint an NFT collection on Stargaze** which will represent the retired NCT and carbon neutral statuses of all Cosmos Zone protocols and validators who have offset their carbon emissions from 2017 through 2023 and have provided the appropriate TX hash as proof of the offset. In addition, The Cosmos ZERO team is excited to support Stargaze's Earth Day NFT mint, by helping to curate and recruit **#refi NFT artists**. The team plans to seek funds from the Regen Community Pool to help co-fund some of the artists stipends, and potentially offer some NCT tokens to offset energy used to create the collection itself! ## Background The environmental cost of blockchain technology is often cited as a problem that needs to be tackled before widespread adoption. Proof of Work consensus algorithms, such as those in use by Bitcoin and Ethereum, create an arms race of computing power in order for a miner to be the first to create a new block and so obtain the reward. Cosmos’ Proof of Stake validation system drastically improves on this by making this competition take place over attracting more delegation of stake from users. Validators are not required to perform deliberately complicated calculations and so can run on relatively low power machines. However, these machines are still required to be online 24/7 and perform calculations to confirm each block as it is generated. This results in a carbon footprint for each blockchain in the Cosmos ecosystem. ### Carbon Credits Industry Carbon credits are real world financial assets (commodities) that are rapidly becoming tokenized onto blockchains. Demand for carbon credits is expected to become a $500 billion + industry by 2030, and is already a 6 billion annual industry. **CosmosZERO Program:** [https://regennetwork.notion.site/Cosmos-ZERO-Achieve-Protocol-Validator-Net-Zero-Carbon-Emissions-ddd441e3ff3d4dbda83265433843ec10](https://www.notion.so/Cosmos-ZERO-Achieve-protocol-net-zero-carbon-emissions-while-building-a-carbon-market-in-Cosmos-ddd441e3ff3d4dbda83265433843ec10) **CosmosZERO Carbon Footprint Analysis:** [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H-w4dBc1Svcmw_fzEKUFRgK_pga1qsGMHCTsUKUmWEA/edit](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H-w4dBc1Svcmw_fzEKUFRgK_pga1qsGMHCTsUKUmWEA/edit) **Osmosis Carbon Market with Regen Network (passed):** [https://gov.osmosis.zone/discussion/3936-proposal-osmosis-carbon-market-with-regen-network](https://gov.osmosis.zone/discussion/3936-proposal-osmosis-carbon-market-with-regen-network) --- ## Discussions [Commonwealth](https://gov.stargaze.zone/discussion/9402-stargaze-carbon-climate-cosmos-zero) [Discord](https://discord.com/channels/755548171941445642/1067316348729962506)