Opportunity for Islamic Finance in Blockchain Solutions for Climate Change: A Case Study of DCarbonX Model

Abstract

Abstract: The climate change is one of the biggest problems that humanity is facing and there is a dearth of solutions in tackling this grave impediment to the long-term sustainability of our planet. Accountability, greenwashing, traceability, impact assessment and trading of carbon credits are unresolved issues in the ESG sector. The paper aims at identifying the opportunity for Islamic finance by reviewing the novel business model of DCarbonX, a Decentralized Application (DApp) that solves the enumerated problems using NFTs on the blockchain platform through smart contracts. The paper combined the inductive method and descriptive approach to describe the functional architecture of DCarbonX, while elaborating on its salient features and highlighting opportunity in sustainable finance for Islamic finance players. The paper encompasses a study on the applications of DApps in DeFi, Web 3.0 and ESG, among other areas and gives a comparative analysis of blockchain platforms for DApp development. The paper concluded that there is a harmony in the SDGs and the primary goals of Maqasid al-Shariah. The blockchain platforms can be utilized to develop DApps for solving the issues related ESG and climate change. The Islamic finance can seize the untapped opportunity in blockchain based solutions for climate change by launching the DApps in the domains of Capital Market (like green Sukuk), Embedded Finance, Takaful, NFTs, RegTech, and SupTech. Keywords: Blockchain, DApp, DCarbonX, Climate Change, Carbon Market, NFT, Islamic Finance.