A Novel Incentive Mechanism for Blockchain-based Carbon Emission Reduction in Construction

Abstract

<p>In response to climate change, the construction industry is facing tremendous pressure to reduce carbon emissions and realize sustainable development. Most governments have initiated a few incentive mechanisms, such as carbon trading and green subsidies, but these mechanisms are at the industry level and depend on external supervision. Besides, the existing environment management in construction exits issues, e.g., data loss and data fraud, while blockchain technology is encouraged to be applied to address these problems. Thus, to take advantage of blockchain and motivate project members to participate in carbon reduction, this paper proposes a novel incentive mechanism for blockchain-based carbon emission reduction. Specifically, the carbon reduction credit (CR credit) is proposed to evaluate the low carbon performance of members. Then, this mechanism mainly involves two parts: (i) update CR credits through two systems: the Crowd-Wisdom System, where green innovations are assessed, and the Reporting System, where members’ carbon-related misbehaviors are detected; (ii) reward the ones with higher CR credits through a new consensus mechanism of blockchain, Proof of Carbon Reduction (PoCR). In the PoCR, participants compete to be the block producer (leader) driven by profits. The leader and block verifiers are selected by an election algorithm based on Verifiable Random Function (VRF) and CR credit amounts; the one with higher CR credits is more likely to be the winner in the leader election to generate a block and get a reward. The proposed incentive mechanism is expected not only to promote mutual supervision and stimulate members’ creativity in green construction but also to improve the functions of the blockchain system.<br></p>