Cleantech Commons Supports Nature x Carbon Tech Challenge: catalyzing tools for nature-based climate solutions
Are you an innovator with a way to track carbon in nature? Then the WWF-Canada Nature x Carbon Tech Challenge is for you…
The proposal period is open now through November 8th, 2021. If you would like to learn more, don’t miss WWF-Canada’s upcoming virtual event: Nature X Carbon Tech: catalyzing tools for nature-based climate solutions to learn how WWF-Canada and their partners are using technology to drive positive impact for nature, climate, and people. Join on October 5, 1:00-3:00 EST. Register here.
Through our friends at WWF-Canada and their “Living Planet Technology Hub“, you could receive up to $125,000 in grants and contracts, in addition to other awards, to support the application your their technology in the field and to help bring your technology to scale. You’ll also receive guidance and assistance from WWF-Canada’s scientists and access to an executive coaching opportunity from Microsoft Canada.
Click here to learn what each finalist will receive, or click here to learn exactly how the challenge works.
Canada is facing dual crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. Globally, one-third of our climate change-causing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from the destruction of trees, ground cover, peatlands, and coastal ecosystems. By safeguarding existing carbon-rich ecosystems, and restoring habitat that absorbs even more carbon, we can slow and reverse climate change while allowing biodiversity to thrive.
Protecting and restoring natural features that catch and store carbon (also referred to as Nature-based climate solutions, or NbCS), plays an important role in getting to net zero. But we must be able to measure how much carbon is being captured by nature over time, to ensure we meet those targets. A variety of approaches for carbon measurement already exist, but they often deliver incomplete data and are costly and/or labour and time-intensive.
WWF-Canada is seeking cost-effective, innovative and user-friendly technologies (hardware and/or software) to support community-led carbon measurement of nature-based climate solutions in Canada.
Challenge Streams
In this category, we are looking for technology solutions that can measure carbon levels in biomass, or vegetation. Biomass carbon pools are located both above and below ground. In the case of a tree, the trunk, branches and leaves are all above-ground biomass. The living roots make up the below-ground biomass. In coastal ecosystems, it could be the leaves and roots of eelgrass. Globally, plant biomass has an estimated carbon pool of 450 Pg — that’s nine times total annual global emissions. Importantly, biomass carbon pools tend to be in a more continuous state of flux due to natural and anthropogenic impacts such as fire, harvesting and land-use change.
Soils
In this category, we’re looking for carbon measurement technologies that can assess the carbon storage and/or sequestration value in the biomass and soils of a set ecosystem. By measuring both categories, we can develop a more comprehensive assessment of the carbon storage value of the entire ecosystem.
Put your carbon measurement technology into action with WWF-Canada
Up to five finalists of the Nature x Carbon Tech Challenge will have the opportunity to test their technology solutions on the ground with communities that are already implementing nature-based climate solution projects. The robust award packages are designed to help scale the technologies.
The proposal period is open now through November 8th, 2021.
And don’t miss WWF-Canada’s upcoming virtual event: Nature X Carbon Tech: catalyzing tools for nature-based climate solutions to learn how WWF-Canada and their partners are using technology to drive positive impact for nature, climate, and people. Join on October 5, 1:00-3:00 EST. Register here.