The energy consumption and carbon emissions from Bitcoin mining will undercut China’s climate efforts without more stringent regulations and policy changes, according to a study published this week in Nature Communications, reported Bloomberg.
The energy consumption from Bitcoin mining in China — the country that accounted for more than 75% of Bitcoin blockchain operations globally as of April 2020 — is projected to peak in 2024 at around 297 terawatt-hours, generating 130 million metric tons of carbon emissions, according to the study from researchers at University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Cornell University, Tsinghua University and University of Surrey.
China’s energy consumption from Bitcoin mining in 2024 will exceed the total energy consumption of countries like Italy and Saudi Arabia, the study said, and the carbon emissions will top the annual greenhouse gas emissions of countries including the Netherlands, Spain and the Czech Republic.
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