Tokenizing Sustainability – Carbon Credits, Accountability, and ESG in Supply Chains (TOSCA)

Duration: September 2023 until February 2025

With a series of legislative acts, the European Union wants to achieve the goal of climate neutrality by 2050. Similar to the safeguarding of social standards, it is to be feared that this will lead to a relocation of production to third countries and the subsequent import of goods produced there into the EU. Therefore, systems are to be developed that measure greenhouse gas emissions and compliance with ESG standards along global supply chains, report on them and thus make them verifiable. The core idea of the project is to make use of the characteristics of blockchain technology – immutability of once confirmed tokens, high security against irregular changes and electronic accessibility of the ledger – to build on the findings of initial international pilot tests on CO2 tokens, and to develop such systems in a legally secure, effective and efficient way by tokenizing corresponding information and certificates.

This objective is also partly pursued by the „Project on the Legal Nature of Voluntary Carbon Credits“ of the Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT), in which the project group TOSCA has been granted observer status and can therefore participate in expert hearings.

Principal Investigators

RiOLG Prof. Dr. Dominik Skauradszun, LL.M. Taxation, Hochschule Fulda | spokesperson | more information
Prof. Dr. Dr. Walter Blocher, Universität Kassel | deputy | more information

Prof. Dr. Florian Möslein, Dipl.-Kfm., LL.M. (London), Philipps-Universität Marburg | more information
Prof. Dr. Carsten Müller, Hochschule Fulda | more information
Prof. Dr. Eric Nowak, Center for Financial Studies, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt | more information
Prof. Dr. Philipp Sandner †, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management | more information
Prof. Dr. Nils Urbach, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences | more information
Prof. Dr. Georg von Wangenheim, Universität Kassel | more information

Tokenisation of Carbon Credits: Blockchain for Climate Action?

Prof. Dr. Dominik Skauradszun in the podcast Digitalgespräch (in German only)

The trade in CO2 certificates has created complex markets in which certificates are traded almost like securities – but the legal regulation is still unclear. One possible solution: blockchain technology could make trading more efficient and transparent. Initial approaches for ‘tokenised carbon credits’ already exist, and international experts are looking eagerly to Europe’s regulation of crypto-assets.

Episode 56 of Digitalgespräch, feat. Dominik Skauradszun of Hochschule Fulda

ZEVEDI Side Event

Wednesday, May 22, 2024, darmstadtium, Darmstadt
Panel “Tokenization of Carbon Credits” 9:25 am – 10:40 am
Young Researchers Thesis Speed Dating 2:25 pm – 3:25 pm

On May 22, the first Blockchain Horizons: INATBA’s Academic and R&D Forum will take place in Darmstadt. Experts from around the world will discuss the potential deployment of DLT for various sectors and present current research at the Congress Center Darmstadtium. As part of a side event organized by the Center Responsible Digitality (ZEVEDI), we invite young researchers to present their research in a speed dating format. A time slot of 7 minutes is available for each “date”, after which participants will rotate. Exchange ideas, network, find project partners – all in a casual setting.

Participation in the ZEVEDI side event requires a valid ticket for the Blockchain Horizons: INATBA’s Academic and R&D Forum. The first 20 participants who sign up below will receive a free ticket from ZEVEDI. You do not need to purchase a ticket yourself and will not receive a refund for tickets already purchased. We will notify each participant whether they will receive a complimentary ticket or if they need to register themselves.

Tickets for the conference are also available at https://inatba.org/blockchain-horizons/

registration for the ZEVEDI Side Event

Blockchain Horizons