- Environmental group report reveals that US bitcoin produces the same amount of carbon footprint as 6 million cars.
- Over 38% of global BTC mining is based in US producing 27.4 million tonnes of carbon footprint.
- The groups further demanded new mining operations be banned from the US states.
A report by environmental groups disclosed that Bitcoin mining in the US produces the same amount of carbon emissions as 6 million cars, each year. Post-report-release on Friday, the groups have insisted new US Bitcoin mining operations be banned in light of threatening climate change.
Sierra Club’s energy analyst Jeremy Fisher and co-author of the report said that energy-hungry sectors can produce emissions that can damage all measures being taken to battle climate change.
We’re at an inflection point. We’re trying to rapidly decarbonize. Bitcoin mining has the potential to undo some of that progress.
According to an Environmental Protection Agency calculator, the cryptocurrency sector’s carbon footprint from mid-2021 to mid-2022 stood at 27.4 million tonnes which is three times that of the largest US coal plant.
In 2022, only 3.5% of global bitcoin mining was located in the US, however, that number has evolved into a 38% in 2022, as per a new study from the White House.
To combat this crisis, the New York legislature shares the same perspective as the environmental groups, passing a law to pause all new fossil fuel-based operations.
However, the Bitcoin industry is defending the cryptocurrency sector by claiming that BTC uses a small 0.09% to 1.7% of the total US power. Moreover, members of the Bitcoin mining Council have presented data that shows over 50% of the power utilized by miners arrives from renewable sources.
Sustainable Bitcoin Protocol’s Elliot David further commented, “Bitcoin is a technology with a lot of positive and negative climate potential.”
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