UN experts have studied the consequences of bitcoin mining during the mining boom of 2020-2021. They came to the conclusion that the production of cryptocurrency led to the release of over 85.8 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, while humanity lost access to 1.65 billion tons of clean drinking water. This was reported by the press service of the United Nations University (UNU). The study was published Tuesday in the scientific journal Earth's Future.
"The global bitcoin mining network consumed about 173 terawatts of electricity during the mining boom. If this network were a country, then it would rank 27th in the world in terms of energy consumption and would be comparable in this regard to Pakistan. Over 67% of this electricity was produced with the help of thermal power plants, whose total emissions into the atmosphere exceeded 85.8 million tons ofCO2," the report says.
This is the conclusion reached by a group of climatologists and environmentalists led by UNU professor Kaveh Madani while studying the consequences of the cryptocurrency mining boom, which began in 2020 and ended in late 2021 - early 2022. During this period, the price of Bitcoin, the key cryptocurrency, quadrupled, triggering a "cryptocurrency fever" on a global level.
UN experts studied what resources were then used to obtain bitcoins in 76 countries of the world, where they were actively mined. The analysis showed that bitcoin mining was associated not only with high electricity costs, but also with the release of 85.8 million tons ofCO2 into the atmosphere, as well as the loss of 1.65 billion tons of clean drinking water.
About half of these emissions, 40 million tons ofCO2, and lost volumes of water come from China, which led the way in bitcoin mining before the Chinese government began introducing measures to limit cryptocurrency mining in May 2021. The top ten in terms of cryptocurrency emissions also includes the United States, where a significant part of the mining capacity was transported after the introduction of bans in China, as well as Kazakhstan, Russia, Malaysia, Canada, Singapore and some other countries.
Professor Madani and his colleagues estimate that the top ten bitcoin producing countries account for about 92-94% of the carbon dioxide emissions and water losses associated with cryptocurrency generation. For this reason, UN experts suggest that the regulatory authorities of these states work out measures that would take into account the impact of mining on the climate and the environment and control that cryptocurrency producers compensate for the damage they cause to nature.