Blockchain for Sustainable Energy and Climate in the Global South: Use Cases and Opportunities

This report examines the potential and limitations of blockchain technology for advancing sustainable energy and climate action in developing regions, with a focus on the Global South. It outlines how distributed ledger systems can support decentralized energy systems, climate finance, carbon markets, and digital measurement, reporting, and verification processes by improving transparency, traceability, and transaction efficiency. Drawing on multiple case studies, the report reviews applications in renewable energy trading, clean energy financing, carbon offsetting, and data governance. It also identifies persistent challenges, including weak digital infrastructure, limited data quality, low digital literacy, high energy consumption of some blockchain systems, and regulatory uncertainty. The report situates blockchain as an enabling but not standalone solution, emphasizing the importance of supportive policies, human-centered design, and local capacity development.