The problem it solves

Issues in the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM)

The voluntary carbon market (VCM) faces challenges limiting its impact:

1. Opacity & Fragmentation

• Lack of transparency in credit issuance and retirement erodes trust.
• Siloed markets with varied standards cause confusion.

2. High Intermediary Costs

• Brokers’ high fees (20–30%) cut funds for climate projects.
• These costs limit buyer access, reducing efficiency.

3. Accessibility Barriers

• Complex verification and costs exclude small projects, especially in India.
• Individual buyers face technical and financial barriers.

4. Liquidity & Settlement Issues

• Slow trading and inefficient settlements hinder liquidity.
• Off-chain agreements and double-counting risks undermine trust.

How Base Carbon Canopy Solves These

Base Carbon Canopy, on Base Sepolia, enhances the VCM:

• Transparency: ERC-1155 tokens ensure traceable trades. A Leaflet.js map shows Indian projects (e.g., Gujarat methane capture). AutoML Impact Scores (0–100), from Estimated Annual Credits, rank projects (e.g., “Score: 85”), building trust.
• Low Costs: Base’s layer-2 and 1% mock USDC fee cut overhead vs. 20–30% broker fees, aiding projects.
• Access: React DApp with MetaMask simplifies trading. Impact Scores boost small Indian projects, aligning with SDG 10.
• Liquidity: Smart contracts enable instant settlements. Impact Scores drive mock USDC trades, with on-chain retirement preventing double-counting. It outperforms centralized registries, offering a stablecoin-driven solution for India’s climate needs.

Challenges we ran into

1. Adapting to Keras for Impact Scores
Obstacle: Using Keras instead of Auto-Keras for AutoML Impact Scores required manual model design, complicating the prediction of project impact (e.g., scores for Indian reforestation) due to limited ML expertise.
Solution: We studied Keras documentation, implemented a simple neural network with tuned layers, and trained it on Estimated Annual Credits and SDGs, achieving reliable scores.

2. Smart Contract Debugging
Obstacle: Initial Solidity contracts had NatSpec errors in 'CarbonCredit.sol', preventing compilation, and restrictive logic (e.g., self-trade checks) hindered testing.
Solution: We fixed NatSpec errors, temporarily relaxed restrictive rules for testing, and redeployed contracts using Hardhat on Base Sepolia.

3. Web3 Library Breaking Changes
Obstacle: Ethers.js v6 updates caused runtime errors (e.g., “unsupported addressable value”) in React DApp contract calls due to outdated v5 syntax.
Solution: Updated frontend code (e.g., trading-section.tsx) to use Ethers.js v6 syntax, like 'contract.target', after reviewing documentation.

4. Simplifying Blockchain for Users
Obstacle: Blockchain complexity (e.g., MetaMask, gas fees) intimidated non-technical users.
Solution: Created a Web3Provider context to streamline wallet management, auto-switch to Base Sepolia, and provide clear feedback (e.g., loading states), enhancing DApp usability.

5. Testnet vs. Mainnet Constraints
Obstacle: As students, we faced budget and time limits, preventing Base Mainnet deployment with real ETH costs.
Solution: Used Base Sepolia testnet for cost-free prototyping, ensuring mainnet-ready code for future scaling, with mock USDC simulating stablecoin trades.