Carbon Emission and Plastic Pollution: How Circular Economy, Blockchain, and Artificial Intelligence Support Energy Transition?

Abstract

What drives growth becomes cancerous when it goes beyond limits. Contrary to this common sense, today, consumerism drives our economies and feeds our appetite for ever-growing wants. As a result, we are damaging our ecosystems and risking our very existence on Earth. Though too late, various efforts are promoted by governments and driven by industries to rapidly decarbonize our energy systems and sustainably consume and recycle raw materials. We have discussed two ongoing projects in the domain of energy transition and circular economy. The first one transforms industrial carbon emissions into green fuels and the second one helps in efficient and sustainable segregation and recycling of plastic waste using multi-sensor-driven AI and blockchain tools. These examples demonstrate how circular economy and energy transitions complement each other in the battle against climate change and pollution.