We take on many of the biggest environmental and health challenges of our time and stick with them. The law makes change.
Because the earth needs a good lawyer.
Marissa Solomon, 734-330-0807, marissa@pythiapublic.com
In September, three major research organizations published new reports about the cryptocurrency mining industry, adding to the growing body of work proving just how detrimental the opaque and little-regulated industry is to the climate, local communities, and public health.
These new papers all reach the same conclusion as the recent groundbreaking report from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy: cryptocurrency mining is incompatible with federal and local emissions reductions goals, impacts local communities negatively, and it cannot continue unabated.
Earthjustice and the Sierra Club released The Energy Bomb: How Proof-of-Work Cryptocurrency Mining Worsens the Climate Crisis and Harms Communities Now. The guidebook is a comprehensive report on the negative environmental impacts of cryptocurrency mining in the United States, including a mythbusting section that tackles the industry’s greenwashing talking points to justify its massive energy use.
Highlights from the Guidebook
Scientific Reports published Economic Estimation of Bitcoin Mining’s Climate Damages Demonstrates Closer Resemblance to Digital Crude than Digital Gold. The paper provides economic estimates of the energy-related climate damages of Bitcoin mining, finding that from 2016-2021:
According to the paper, “taken together, these results represent a set of sustainability red flags.”
University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School released A Deep Dive Into Bitcoin’s Environmental Impact. Key findings include:
BACKGROUND
Proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining is an extremely energy intensive process that threatens the ability of governments across the globe to reduce our dependence on climate-warming fossil fuels. Mining requires thousands of machines whirring 24/7 to solve complex equations. The more machines that are running, the faster a coin is mined. Each one of these machines requires energy to run, plus more energy for cooling. Globally, Bitcoin mining consumes more energy each year than the entire country of Argentina. In the U.S. alone, Bitcoin mining produces an estimated 40 billion pounds of carbon emissions each year. Cryptocurrency mining facilities are major emitters of air pollutants. And when cryptocurrency miners rely on the public grid, they can stick everyday people with the bill. A 2021 study estimates “the power demands of cryptocurrency mining operations in upstate New York push up annual electric bills by about $165 million for small businesses and $79 million for individuals.”
Without action to limit cryptocurrency mining now, we will not meet the goals set forth by the Paris Agreement and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to limit warming to 2 degrees Celsius. Cryptocurrency mining operations harm local communities now, including by increasing local pollution and impacting electricity rates and delivery. The guidebook describes several examples where cryptocurrency mining has increased local air, water, and noise pollution, increased electricity rates for everyday people, and increased climate pollution at a time when we should be doing everything in our power to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and mitigate the worst impacts of the climate crisis.
Earthjustice is involved in litigation and other efforts against climate change-accelerating cryptocurrency mining in New York, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Texas, Indiana, Montana, and elsewhere. In May, Earthjustice submitted comments in partnership with advocates to the White House OSTP to inform its recent report. In New York, Earthjustice has been instrumental in efforts to put a moratorium on cryptocurrency mining at power plants that produce their own energy. The organization is also active in efforts and litigation against the Greenidge Generation gas plant in Dresden, NY, where the New York Department of Environmental Conservation denied the facility’s air permit.
Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people’s health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.
Stay informed on how we hold accountable those who break our environmental laws.
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