Ep. 22 Transforming the Carbon Market with Jeremy Epstein of Open Forest Protocol

Today we go into the forest with Jeremy Epstein, head of growth for Open Forrest Protocol. To put it simply, Open Forrest Protocol is a registry and issuer of carbon credits. Jeremy has a background as a lawyer and gives an inspiring take on how blockchain technology is applicable for solving the climate crisis, biodiversity crisis, really any sort of any of the ecological crises we face.Jeremy reminds us, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure,” and since we live in a capitalist economy, market based solutions will have the most potential for success. Jeremy wrote his graduate thesis on the European Union’s emission trading scheme and is highly knowledgeable on the carbon markets. Jeremy gives a thorough explanation of why putting carbon credits on chain is a practical idea. One example is how low quality carbon offsets on the market will encourage other assets to be of better quality and also discourage bad actors to not fudge and lie about their offsets, since it will be public, drastically diminishing the rampant green washing we see today.We look at forward facing impact verifications that Open Forrest Protocol could be used for in the future. Essentially anything that requires MRV - Measure, Report, Verification. One example Jeremy discusses is how if there is a claim for regenerative beef, how is the producer proving that the beef production actually sequestered carbon and regenerated the land? Blockchain and MRV methodology is the tool to provide certainty that regeneration happened. Just like how proof of reserve is necessary for the gold standard, proof of regeneration is also necessary. Jeremy shares how fundamentally we need to enhance trust behind regenerative claims, so people can confidently move their capital into regenerative finance systems.Open Forest Protocol WebsiteOpen Forest Protocol "Atlas"Open Forest Protocol TwitterJeremy's Twitter