UN called cryptocurrencies a threat to the environment

According to the experts, the popularity of decentralized technologies will lead to an increased demand for electricity

06.04.2022 - 08:15

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What’s new? Cryptocurrencies pose a threat to climate change. These are the conclusions reached by the representatives of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) under the auspices of the United Nations. The relevant statements are published in a report on climate change mitigation.

The full version of the report

What other statements have been made? To achieve the main goal of limiting global warming to a level of 1,5℃, carbon emissions should be significantly reduced in all areas, including data processing technologies.

Cryptocurrencies in their current form can become a global source of carbon dioxide emissions. This applies to energy-intensive systems such as blockchain. An increase in demand for new services will lead to an increase in demand for electricity.

“The energy requirements of cryptocurrencies is also a growing concern,” the IPCC experts write.

What had happened before? On March 14, the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee voted against a ban on cryptocurrency mining based on the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus algorithm. The decision, which could have shifted mining to environmentally friendly mechanisms, failed to get the required number of votes in parliament.

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