Bitcoin Mining in China could undermine Climate emission policies

Bloomberg has published an article based on a study carried out by Nature Communications. The study finds that the energy consumption and carbon emission from Bitcoin mining will undercut China’s climate efforts without more stringent regulations and policy changes. The energy consumption from Bitcoin mining in China -- the country that accounts for more than 75% of Bitcoin blockchain operations globally as of April 2020 -- is projected to peak in 2024 at around 297 terawatt-hours, generating 130 million metric tons of carbon emissions, according to the study from researchers at University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Cornell University, Tsinghua University and University of Surrey. 

China’s energy consumption from Bitcoin mining in 2024 will exceed the total energy consumption level of countries like Italy and Saudi Arabia, the study added and the carbon emissions will exceed the annual greenhouse gas emissions outputs of countries including the Netherlands, Spain and Czech Republic.  

 Because China has cheaper power that is less taxed and supplied by abundant coal-fired plants and hydroelectricity, it has become one of the most sought-after destinations for Bitcoin mining. The researchers found that individual site regulation policies might be more effective in curbing emissions in the industry. Those could induce changes in the energy consumption structure of the mining activities, compared with the punitive carbon tax policy that is more popular today.