Chuncheon, the capital of Gangwon Province in South Korea, is collaborating with Austin-based blockchain startup Swytch to reduce carbon emissions and drive economic and environmental sustainability in the city.

Founded in 2017, Swytch is a renewable energy incentive platform built on the blockchain. It tracks and verifies the carbon impact of renewable energy generation and other sustainable actions. It leverages smart meter and blockchain technology to reward the companies and people who reduce carbon emissions the most. By using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, it determines how much carbon is being displaced and therefore how many Swytch tokens to award.

Under this partnership, the participating organizations will jointly pursue sustainable alternatives to traditional energy sources through the development and adoption of solar energy and the implementation of the Swytch network.

"There is no doubt that growing our renewable energy dependence is a positive action," said Lee Jae-Soo, mayor of Chuncheon. "We are enthusiastic about this partnership that will decrease our carbon footprint and increase sustainable energy."

Swytch recently announced that it has raised $8.3 million in its token generation event. It distributed 93 million tokens to over 5,300 participants. Earlier in June, it announced its partnership with Reflective Venture Partners, which provided it with a multi-million dollar funding package that will be used to accelerate further development of its platform and meet corporate expansion goals.

“This partnership aims to address energy shortages while incentivizing infrastructure development in a city that is ready to decrease its dependence on fossil fuels," said Youngsook Park, vice president of business development of Swytch in South Korea. "Swytch enables renewable energy investments to shift to areas that will have the biggest impact on carbon reduction, creating a more fluid energy market."

The South Korean recently unveiled its ‘growth through innovation’ investment plan for 2019 in which it has allocated over 1 trillion won towards big data, blockchain, and sharing economy. Recent reports also suggested that Jeju Island is seeking to become a hub for the blockchain industry.