In the South Pacific, the island nation of Tuvalu decided to turn to Web3 technology in order to make sure its culture and society are preserved in the future. On Nov. 15 the country’s foreign minister, Simon Kofe, told the COP27 climate summit that it is looking for alternative ways to protect the county’s heritage against rising sea levels brought on by climate change. One of those ways is through recreating itself in the metaverse. As highlighted by Minister Hon @Simon_Kofe in his speech to leaders at #COP27 we have had to act. As rising sea levels threaten to submerge …

The Climate Change Coalition (CCC), a network of organizations dedicated to leveraging blockchain technology for effective climate action, including Cointelegraph as a member, delivered on Nov. 11 its stock take report at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP27, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Founded five years ago, the coalition has been working on initiatives related to the consumption accounting system and greenhouse gas emissions accounting. Tom Baumann, chair and founder of the Climate Change Coalition, stated: "During those years, the Coalition has grown from 12 founding organizations to over 360 organizations in 69 countries. The coalition was founded on …

According to a new preprint conducted by researchers at the Open Universiteit, University of California Berkley, and Radboud University, the vast majority of literature on blockchain energy use from both academic and everyday sources "lacks the scientific rigor expected from a mature scientific field." The report analyzed 128 scientific and open-source studies related to carbon emissions of blockchains such as Bitcoin. Researchers then found that an astonishing 34% of studies did not even possess an explicit research design. Meanwhile, 43% of studies did not share data, while 67% did not share source code. Finally, 79% of studies had no discussions …

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the United Nations Climate Change Global Innovation Hub presented the results of their “Genesis 2.0” initiative. The project aims to explore the use of blockchain, smart contracts and the internet of things (IoT) for a global environment cause. The project resulted in two prototypes of tokenized green bonds, developed by two separate international teams, which are “de facto verified carbon credits” recognized by either international, national or other verification mechanisms. As specified in the press release from Oct. 24, both prototypes of “green bonds” are developed using blockchain …

The European Union (EU) released a package of documents Oct. 18 relating to an action plan for implementing the European Green Deal and the REPowerEU Plan, both of which are aimed at energy savings by digitalizing the energy sector. The European energy planners have cryptocurrency in their sights along with myriad other energy users. The REPowerEU Plan was announced in May as a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has had a profound impact on European energy supplies. The Russian crisis was an opportunity for “fast forwarding the clean transition,” the European Commission said. “Controlling the energy consumption …

In her Expert Take column, Selva Ozelli, an international tax attorney and CPA, covers the intersection between emerging technologies and sustainability, and provides the latest developments around taxes, AML/CFT regulations and legal issues affecting digital assets and blockchain. It’s fair to say that the United States is one of the most crypto-friendly countries in the world. It ranks No. 1 in the quantity of Bitcoin and Ethereum nodes, and regulators have taken a particular interest in the subject. In September, the administration of President Joe Biden released a series of federal reports addressing how crypto might be regulated in the …

The Bitcoin (BTC) bashing has continued unabated even in the depths of a bear market with more research questioning its energy usage and impact on the environment. The latest paper by researchers at the department of economics at the University of New Mexico, published on Sept. 29, alleges that from a climate-damage perspective, Bitcoin operates more like “digital crude” than “digital gold.” The research attempts to estimate the energy-related climate damage caused by proof-of-work Bitcoin mining and make comparisons to other industries. It alleges that between 2016 and 2021, on average each $1 in BTC market value created was responsible …

Transitioning the Ethereum blockchain from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake has reduced its energy usage by more than 99% — and many climate activists have called for Bitcoin to follow suit. In a Thursday notice following the Merge, the United States-based Environmental Working Group, or EWG, announced it would be starting a $1-million campaign aimed at urging Bitcoin (BTC) to go green as opposed to using an “outdated protocol” like PoW. The announcement came amid environmental activity group Greenpeace launching a petition directly at Fidelity Investments to facilitate the transition to PoS. “Other cryptocurrency protocols have operated on efficient consensus mechanisms for …

Ahead of Ethereum's (ETH) transition to proof-of-stake, Bitcoin (BTC) maxi Michael Saylor has come out swinging against what he says is "misinformation and propaganda" about the environmental impacts around proof of work (PoW) BTC Mining. The MicroStrategy executive chairman, who recently stepped down as CEO, shared a lengthy post on his Twitter account on Sept. 14, detailing seven of his "high level thoughts” on BTC mining and its impact on the environment. Given the sheer volume of misinformation & propaganda circulating lately, I thought it important to share the truth regarding #Bitcoin Mining and the Environment.https://t.co/CRkayFwDsj — Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) …

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has weighed in on the environmental and energy impact of crypto assets in the United States, finding that crypto makes a significant contribution to energy usage and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It recommends monitoring and regulation in response. The report, released Sept. 8, was the latest to come out of the U.S. President Joe Biden’s March executive order (EO) on the development of digital assets. The EO charged the OSTP with investigating the energy usage associated with digital assets, comparing that usage with other energy outlays, investigating uses of blockchain …

A pro-Bitcoin mining report from self-proclaimed philanthropist Daniel Batten has claimed that Bitcoin (BTC) could become a zero-emission network. The report builds upon data from the Bitcoin Mining Council to understand the impact of carbon-negative energy sources on Bitcoin’s overall carbon footprint. Following investigation and extrapolation of the results, it claims to then “predict when the entire Bitcoin network becomes a zero-emission network.” But how does the Bitcoin network become carbon-negative in the first place? Put simply, by Combusting stranded methane gas to mine Bitcoin that would have otherwise been emitted into the atmosphere. The study finds that this process, …

The South Korean government has put the lid on a science program that created toilets designed to turn human waste into electricity, heat, and digital currency. The Science Walden project was revealed in July 2021 to the amusement of the crypto community and the wider public alike — introducing the “BeeVi” toilet which turned human excrement into methane gas and rewarded its “depositors” with a digital currency called Ggool. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Science Walden lead, and Professor Cho Jae-weon however revealed that in February this year, further development of the BeeVi toilet and its associated Feces Standard Money (FSM) digital …