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IPCC on CO2 emissions from cryptocurrencies: "Growing concern"

 


The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) deals with the scientific assessment of climate change. This considers cryptocurrencies as one of the technologies that could have a higher energy requirement.


According to a report Monday , the IPCC said cryptocurrencies could be a "significant global source" of carbon emissions as part of the infrastructure around data centers and information technology systems related to blockchain. The group said estimated CO2 emissions between 2010 and 2019 indicate there is a 50 percent chance of capping the 1.5°C increase in the Earth's average temperature, given the remaining 2020 carbon budget.


"The energy demand of cryptocurrencies is also a growing concern. However, there is currently significant uncertainty regarding the energy consumption of the blockchain infrastructure behind it," the report states. "While it is clear that the energy demand of bitcoin mining has increased significantly worldwide since 2017, there are very different estimates for 2020 (between 47 TWh and 125 TWh) in the current literature due to data gaps and different modeling approaches."


In addition to crypto and blockchain, the IPCC also included the energy requirements for artificial intelligence. However, the group noted that all technologies have potential for emissions reductions and emissions increases depending on how they are managed:


"Major improvements in information storage, processing and communication, as well as artificial intelligence, will affect emissions. They can improve energy-efficient control, reduce transaction costs for energy production and distribution, and improve demand management. It can also improve the need for reduce physical transport.


The IPCC has previously published two reports to advocate halving global emissions by 2030. This is intended to minimize the environmental impact of climate change. Most experts agree that impacts could include rising sea levels and an increase in extreme weather events. This is a challenge for people who live close to the coast and for food production.


“In the scenarios we assessed, global greenhouse gas emissions would need to peak no later than 2025 and be reduced by 43 percent by 2030 if we aim to limit warming to about 1.5°C. At the same time, methane would also need to be reduced by about a third become," according to the IPCC. "Even if we manage to do that, it's almost inevitable that we'll temporarily exceed that temperature threshold. But by the end of the century, we could fall back below that."

Many regulators, legislators and even celebrities have set crypto and blockchain targets as the effects of climate change become more visible around the world and emission reductions become more urgent. However, CoinShares reported in January that the Bitcoin ( BTC ) mining network accounted for just 0.08 percent of global carbon emissions in 2021. This corresponds to 49,360 megatons.

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