According to research from the University of Cambridge, Bitcoin’s greenhouse gas emissions are expected to be 48.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent this year, 14% less than the estimated emissions for 2021. However, Bitcoin is struggling to go green, with the cryptocurrency making only marginal gains this year in the use of sustainable energy.
Despite efforts to shift bitcoin mining to cleaner energy sources, such as reusing by-products of oil extraction for crypto mining, fossil fuels still account for 62% of Bitcoin’s energy mix in January 2022, according to the latest data available, compared to 65% a year earlier.
The report went on to say that since the level of coal dropped from 47% to 37%, Bitcoin is increasingly dependent on gas, which accounted for a quarter of its energy mix in January, compared to 16% a year earlier.
However, the report’s findings differ significantly from those of the Bitcoin Mining Council, which in July put the share of renewable energy in bitcoin’s power mix at around 60%.
Powerful computers connected to a global network compete to solve complex mathematical puzzles in order to process bitcoin transactions, and get new tokens, a process that consumes a lot of electricity owing to its reliance on polluting fossil fuels such as coal.
CBECI CEO Alexander Neumüller explained that CBECI is trying to prove the footprint of Bitcoin through research and that the energy mix has a significant impact on greenhouse gas emissions.
The sources for this piece include an article in Reuters.
