Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin Mining Operations in China Threaten Climate Goals
- Study urges ‘appropriate interventions and feasible policies’
- Researchers say individual site regulation policies may help
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The energy consumption and carbon emission from Bitcoin mining will undercut China’s climate efforts without more stringent regulations and policy changes, according to a study published in Nature Communications this week.
The energy consumption from Bitcoin mining in China -- the country that accounts 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.