BTC Climate Impact Could Be Offset by ‘Green Choices’
2 min read
Blockchain for Climate Foundation founder Joseph Pallant encourages “green choices” to offset the impact of the BTC network’s carbon footprint.
Speaking with Bloomberg about how to temper the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies, Pallant contrasted ETH and BTC. First, he highlighted ETH’s migration to a less taxing proof-of-stake consensus mechanism over the next year. This could drive ETH’s carbon footprint down to near zero. “That’s why we’re very comfortable using it for our work at the Blockchain for Climate Foundation,” he said.
However, with BTC, he emphasized that it would not be using proof-of-stake. Ripple co-found Chris Larsen, recently wrote that BTC’s energy-intensive proof-of-work mechanism could threaten the overall growing adoption of crypto. Because of this, mitigating BTC’s impact would require other tools, Pallant continued.
Offsetting BTC environmental impact
Because BTC lacks plans to mitigate the burden of its proof-of-work consensus mechanism, Pallant suggested making “green choices.” For instance, using renewable energy as an energy source for BTC mining. Canadian company Digihost recently announced that over 50% of the energy for its mining operations came from renewable energy sources.
Another suggestion he posed was purchasing carbon credits to offset BTC’s carbon footprint. He highlighted another Canadian company, NinePoint, which offers a BTC ETF. NinePoint is working with Carbon X to calculate the impact of the BTC in its ETF and purchase credits to offset it.
Pallant emphasized that potential investors understanding the environmental impact of their individual choices would be key for facilitating a “cleaner BTC.” He added that incentivizing miners to share data about their carbon footprint could go a long way in this regard. Although, “they’re notoriously hard to get to share data because they really need their privacy,” Pallant admitted.
Despite the reticence in sharing data, the Blockchain for Climate Foundation executive director cited widely accepted estimates of crypto’s climate impact. He mentioned a study from Cambridge University, which put BTC’s carbon footprint at around 40-48 million tons of carbon emissions per year. Tesla CEO Elon Musk cited this same study when he announced that the company would no longer accept BTC payments.
Meanwhile, Pallant added that ETH’s impact amounts to 12 million tons per year. However, he concluded that ETH’s transition to proof-of-stake would likely lead to the footprint’s neutralization.
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