Workers install a new row of Bitcoin mining machines at the Whinstone US Bitcoin mining facility in Rockdale, Texas on October 9, 2021. MARK FELIX/AFP via Getty Images
Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental journal, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality scientific content about environmental problems, causes and solutions.
The U.S. bitcoin industry produces as much climate pollution as 6 million internal combustion cars each year and three times as much as the nation’s largest coal-fired power plant, a new report by several environmental groups concludes.
The global share of energy-intensive bitcoin “mining” in the United States has increased by more than an order of magnitude since 2020, from 3.5% to 38% after China banned bitcoin mining in 2021, and the groups have called on states to ban new mining operations.
“We are at an inflection point,” Jeremy Fisher, Sierra Club energy analyst and co-author of the report, told Thomson Reuters. “We are trying to decarbonize quickly…Bitcoin mining has the potential to undo some of this progress” with its 27.4 million tonnes of emissions over the past year. Although some claim to offset emissions from the mining process, “there is a lot of greenwashing going on,” Fisher warned.
As a Thomson Reuters Foundation reporter:
Environmental groups say the industry’s environmental toll, energy consumption and long-term impact on communities have been largely hidden from scrutiny.
Friday’s report highlights instances where bitcoin miners have extended the life of fossil fuel power plants, hiked electricity rates, strained power grids and reneged on promises of carbon benefits. employment for the local community.
For a deeper dive:
Thomson Reuters Foundation
For more climate change and clean energy news, you can follow Climate Nexus on Twitter and Facebookregister daily hot newsand visit their news site, Nexus Media News.
Subscribe to receive exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!
By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.