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Single.Earth issues the first currency backed by nature
The first money minted from nature has been issued to forest owners as Single.Earth rolls out a new tool to finance nature protection. It’s the first phase of introducing a new global currency MERIT, which EQT-backed Estonian fintech Single.Earth issues to landowners for the ecosystem services nature provides, making it the first currency backed by nature. “Some 2,600 years after the first coins were minted we are today minting a currency based on the work of nature. It’s a huge leap for the world of money.” Merit Valdsalu, CEO and co-founder of Single.Earth Single.Earth is integrating nature protection into the economy so that nature and the economy can grow together. …
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Costa Rica partners with Restor to protect its forests
A partnership between the Government of Costa Rica and Restor, an open science platform for ecosystem restoration, promises to deliver a greater level of transparency to the country’s conservation and restoration efforts. As part of the agreement, Costa Rica will publish details about its payment program for ecosystem services (PES) projects on Restor and receive access to global monitoring data and tools. “By sharing our payment for ecosystem services projects on Restor, Costa Rica is making its commitments on forest loss and recovery transparent, traceable, and accountable. We hope this will inspire other countries to do the same,” said Andrea Meza Murillo, Costa Rica’s Minister of Environment and Energy. Since…
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Single.Earth offers consumers a solution to cap the global emissions
Estonian startup Single.Earth is launching a new nature-backed payment method that offers consumers a solution to cap the global emissions as an answer to COP26 challenges. The Estonia-headquartered startup, backed by EQT Ventures and Icebreaker.vc, introduces a payment method that caps carbon emissions through tokenization of the world’s nature. Since the 2015 Paris accord, which set an aspirational target of capping global warming at 1.5C, growing scientific evidence has shown that crossing the threshold would unleash more floods, droughts, wildfires and storms, with irreversible consequences. In Glasgow, at COP26, the world leaders have held many speeches and made pledges that environmentalists and scientists see as inadequate. “The governments are busy…
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World Fund launches €350m fund to support the climate crisis
New climate tech investor World Fund launches €350m fund to support the next generation of founders focused on the climate crisis. World Fund is Europe’s biggest climate tech VC intending to raise €350 million to back founders using tech solutions to tackle the climate crisis. World Fund, Europe’s biggest climate tech venture capital fund, is launching a €350 million fund targeting startups building technology that can help decarbonize the planet. With nearly 60 investors including current and former European tech founders, World Fund has been initiated by global search engine Ecosia and will be the largest climate tech fund on the continent, focused on the tech that can reduce carbon…