U.S. authorities: bitcoin mining is worsening climate chaos

U.S. authorities are beginning to suspect that bitcoin mining is worsening climate chaos

The New York State Assembly heard testimony from four Cornell University scientists in four different disciplines on the impact of bitcoin mining on the climate. The scientists were categorical: Bitcoin must be phased out in the harshest possible way, or it will have a profoundly negative impact on the U.S. commitment to carbon neutrality.

In New York State, entrepreneurs are planning to reactivate five natural gas-fired power plants in order to mine bitcoin. To reassure the public and stay within the state’s decarbonization program, which is supposed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85% compared to 1990 levels, entrepreneurs promise to build 17 MW of solar power plants in the north of the state. The solar farms will allegedly reduce the state’s carbon dioxide emissions by 18% and comply with the state’s Climate Leadership and Protection Act (CLCPA).

According to scientists, there are no conditions upstate to achieve this level of solar generation and it will at best reduce emissions by 2.5 percent. If all five former power plants in upstate New York were allowed to restart operations for bitcoin mining operations using natural gas, the researchers say the estimated annual emissions could exceed 18 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, or more than 8 percent of New York State’s 2030 target of 250 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

Scientists urge lawmakers not to go along with miners and not to consider bitcoin a safe or promising payment instrument. “Bitcoin has not met its stated goal,” said one of the academic speakers. – It is a very unstable medium of exchange. Moreover, the bitcoin network cannot handle a large volume of transactions and is relatively slow to process transactions. Ironically, bitcoin has become what it should never have become, namely, a speculative financial asset.

However, scientists call for separating blockchain and cryptocurrency mining based on proof-of-work technologies. If we don’t use extremely energy-intensive proof-of-work processes, then blockchain has a right to life and will be useful in many areas.