Greenwashing in the Bitcoin Industry

Can Bitcoin Stop Climate Change? Proof of Work, Energy Consumption and Carbon Footprint (SoK)

“…According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Global Warming Potential (GWP) "of methane are about 60, 28, and 5, respectively, for time horizons of 20, 100 and 500 years" [55, p. 15] (see also [3], [11], [19], [29], [102]). However, the standard way of accounting for GWP (GWP100) has been challenged with because it fails to account for GHG emission rates, leading to alternative metrics such as GWP* [103], which has an "exculpatory" effect on some methane emissions, relative to GWP100 [104].…”

“…RECs, Guarantees of origin (GOs), and carbon offsets: Purchasing RECs and GOs is a standard mechanism that a miner may employ to reduce its carbon footprint [3], [14]. Both bitcoin miners and other buyers may also calculate the carbon footprint of their bitcoin holdings and purchase carbon offsets to compensate therefor [3], [16], [29], [113]. .…”

“…Although it is possible that mining will lead to renewable buildout and hence net decarbonizing additions of load, it is also possible that it will create a demand for additional conventional energy, which would increase GHG [28], [29]). There have been isolated examples of this [11].…”

“…This gas is also frequently flared [100]. If not flared, stranded and landfill gas is vented, which leads to even greater methane emissions [11], [29], [101].…”