2023-12-19 16:31:51
Most opinions regarding Bitcoin mining are usually either black or white. Many express critical voices regarding energy consumption and environmental impact, while others are fanatically ignorant of such issues. That is why the analyzes that point out how Bitcoin mining can help with the issue of environmental protection are also useful. – just think regarding what we wrote regarding the water shortage recently.
This is how Bitcoin mining can help reduce methane emissions
In preparation for the COP28 conference in Dubai in November 2023, the world’s three largest economies have been particularly active on the issue of methane in the energy sector. This month, China published the long-awaited methane emission control action plan. But e.g. and the European Council and Parliament announced that they had reached an agreement on new rules for reducing methane emissions from the energy sector. Major emitters such as Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan have joined the 150 signatories of the global methane offer. So it seems that more and more countries and companies are waking up to the fact that they have to do something with methane. However, even at the conference, they only reached the point that the unnecessary burning of natural gas and methane emissions must be reduced.
But few people focused on the question of what to do with the collected methane. One third of the methane emitted by mankind comes from manufacturing, transportation and the use of fossil fuels. In order to be able to reach the set goal that by 2015 the global temperature increase should not be more than 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to the period before the industrial revolution, methane emissions would have to be reduced by 75% by 20230. This is where crypto mining comes into play. Because if electricity can be generated from the methane collected during the mining activity, which would then turn into carbon dioxide during the mining, then we would already be better off. This is because the climate change effect of one ton of methane is equivalent to that of 80 tons of carbon dioxide.
What would be needed?
A 1MW Bitcoin mining rig might process 800 tons of methane in a year, so for the entire Bitcoin mining industry, that would be a huge savings. Of course, this will require mining companies to go to places where a lot of methane is produced as a result of oil extraction. For example, the Caspian Sea region, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia or the Middle East. The main obstacle is that global policy makers and the mining industry are not familiar with how such a cryptomining venture works. Despite the challenges, there is a need for policies that promote the use of the byproduct methane, or at least do not hinder it through regulations such as blanket bans on mining.
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