I’ve always been a climate optimist. I’ve believed that the combination of new technologies and market demand will ultimately help us stop climate change. Recently, though, I’ve had some doubts. Yes, we’re all embracing the idea that we should do something about climate. But are we doing enough and doing it quickly enough?

Voluntary carbon offsets is something we should all be very, very proud of. Without government oversight, businesses, banks, and even private individuals have come together to support climate programs around the world. Projects from renewable energy to forests to sustainable agriculture to cooking stoves and clean water, in far away places like Bolivia, Nepal, and […]

While sustainable investing continues to gain momentum, some deeply ingrained but also deeply flawed views of risk and return in academic finance still make it look like a fad. Research like this may seem arcane and its assumptions innocuous, but the implications are not. When peer reviewed, award-winning research from top-ranking business schools say that […]

Earth Day. Time to think about what we’re each doing about climate change. For me, it’s to create open source software, as part of the Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger Climate SIG: So why open source software?

I will be giving a talk for the Linux Foundation OSS Summit on “Fighting Climate Change with Blockchain and Open Source” on Monday October 26 at 12 PM GMT/8 AM EST/5 AM PST.  This will be a virtual event that you can attend from anywhere in the world.  Here’s the synopsis of my talk: If climate change […]

Here’s a video introducing what we’re doing at the Hyperledger Carbon Accounting and Certifications Working Group: Here’s a transcript of the video: Hello.  I’m Si Chen from Open Source Strategies in Los Angeles, California. My background is on the business side.  I run an ecommerce company and have also developed open source ERP and CRM […]

Let’s imagine a world where … When an owner makes a building more energy efficient, its tenants immediately realize the benefits. Anybody could access renewable energy, saving on their utility bills while reducing their carbon emissions. Where they live, whether they rent or own, and how long they plan to be there no longer matters. […]

I attended the Crux Informatics virtual conference on Data and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investing this week and found it very insightful. (You can watch both day 1 and day 2 of the conference here.) It was very gratifying to see that ESG investing is finally proven in the investment industry: It’s no longer […]

Imagine sending in a payment to your bank for your mortgage, car loan, or credit card bill. A few months later, you get a letter from the bank asking you when you will be paying. Huh? You tell them you already sent in a payment and enclose a copy of the paid check. Weeks later, […]

Here’s a subtle dealbreaker for CleanTech: Energy is Easy. In fact, too easy. Our utilities and regulators have worked hard for over 100 years to provide us with virtually unlimited energy at low prices, and they’ve been very successful at it. As a result, the average American spends all of eight minutes per year thinking […]