AutoChain: An Incentive-Based Blockchain System for Air Quality Monitoring and Emissions Reduction
Bogdan Cristian Florea, Dragoş Daniel Ţarălungă · 2023
Global warming and greenhouse gas emissions have increased dramatically over the last years and these issues have been approached through policies and regulations with various levels of success. Even with the introduction of emissions trading systems (ETS) focused mainly on the industrial sector, the private individual emissions footprint can no longer be neglected. For individuals, air quality, freedom of movement and access to goods and services are essential to ensure a good quality of life. The development of alternative transportation options, such as hybrid, electric and even autonomous vehicles have reignited the need to reduce the emissions footprint not only for industries, but for individuals as well. This is further emphasized by the technological advances for information access which contributes to the change in mentality necessary for individual actions. In this paper, we propose a incentive-based blockchain system for air quality monitoring and emissions reduction through data-driven gamification, by providing drivers with environmental information about their chosen routes, using up-to-date air quality information from fixed monitoring stations. The proposed system will provide drivers with incentives for choosing alternative means of transportation, such as blockchain network tokens, parking facilities, etc.