Greenpeace USA Names Wall Street Giants as Major Drivers of Bitcoin Mining Emissions
Greenpeace USA has called out nine Wall Street firms for their contribution to Bitcoin mining’s carbon emissions. The Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), responsible for exposing and seeking solutions to global environmental problems, made such claims in its published report, “Bankrolling Bitcoin Pollution: How Big Finance Supports a New Climate Threat.”
The Bitcoin mining process consumes a lot of energy generated by burning fossil fuels, which contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Bitcoin mining burns as much electricity as entire countries, for instance, the state of Washington, and about 62% of the electricity consumed for Bitcoin mining on a global scale in 2022 came from fossil fuels.
Greenpeace reports stated that if Bitcoin’s energy-consuming technology is not controlled, the economic degeneration is bound to accelerate. Calling out Wall Street titans like BlackRock, Fidelity, Vanguard, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, the report continued, “traditional financial services companies continue to fuel Bitcoin’s expansion by investing in Bitcoin mining companies and offering new investment products and services tied to Bitcoin.”
The report mentioned that the Wall Street firms made climate and sustainability promises, but are not taking significant or effective steps to reduce Bitcoin’s high energy consumption.
Greenpeace USA Demands of the Wall Street Titans
Greenpeace, clamoring for climate change, included several measures the Wall Street firms need to implement in its report.
One such measure is for JP Morgan and the rest of the firms to publicly recognize the harmful effects of Bitcoin mining on the environment.
Secondly, the Wall Street institutions should support Bitcoin’s switch to a more energy-efficient and eco-friendly mining system. For instance, Ethereum switched from the Proof of Work consensus mechanism (which Bitcoin currently uses) to the Proof of Stake consensus mechanism because of the former’s high energy consumption level, as stated by the network’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin.
Furthermore, JP Morgan, Citibank, Vanguard, etc., should provide financial support to developers, startups, and researchers working to provide eco-friendly blockchain solutions and improvements to the Bitcoin protocol.
In conclusion, the Greenpeace report mentioned that Wall Street institutions should suspend Bitcoin mining until they implement a code revision that mitigates its climate footprint.