ESG analyst Daniel Batten argues that bitcoin mining could reduce methane emissions by up to 8.5 percent by 2030.
As a greenhouse gas, methane has 80 times more potential to cause climate change than carbon dioxide (CO2) in its first 20 years in the atmosphere, according to research. It accounts for about a fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions.
Converting methane into CO2
Daniel Batten, a renowned environment, social and governance (ESG) analyst and bitcoin investor, said bitcoin mining could significantly reduce the amount of methane concentrations in the atmosphere.
Batten argues that removing one tonne’s worth of methane emissions is more efficient than avoiding the same amount of carbon dioxide. His plan is to convert methane into carbon dioxide and use it to power bitcoin mining.
“You do that by finding leaking methane and cleanly burning it to generate electricity,” Batten outlined in a long April 29 thread on Twitter. “By doing that you get a +80 point for removing methane, but a -1 point penalty for the residual carbon dioxide, so its still 79x more effective than removing CO2 from our atmosphere.”
Methane is produced mainly in landfills and in agriculture, especially during the digestive processes of a cow. Human activities such as driving, oil and gas fields also cause CH4 emissions. Once burned, however, methane decays to form gaseous products that do not warm the planet.
Bitcoin miners have started to experiment with the use of what is called “stranded gas” – flared and vented natural gas from the oil industry – to power their mining rigs. Ordinarily, this is gas that will either go to waste or is burnt. Batten says miners could add to this energy produced from landfills.
“If bitcoin miners were used in the world’s oilfields and landfills, they would reduce our global emissions by 8.5%: 1.5% for oilfields and 7% for landfills,” Batten explained.
Batten adds that the quantum of methane in the world has been understated, quoting NASA data which says the world underestimated oil and gas methane emissions by 40 percent. Landfill gas has been under-quantified by 127%, he says.
BTC’s energy consumption behind that of the banking sector
Scientists blame emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide as the cause of climate change. Now bitcoin mining is caught in the matrix. Some academics and economists have criticized the process of creating new bitcoins, often referred to as mining, saying it fuels climate change.
They say that mining consumes too much electricity generated from fossil fuels like coal, a major source of carbon emissions. For example, Fairplanet argues that “each bitcoin transaction uses around 2,100 kilowatt hours (kWh), which is roughly what an average U.S. household consumes in 75 days.”
Much less is said about the use of electricity involving legacy monopoly financial institutions like commercial lenders.
In August 2018, Dr Katrina M. Kelly-Pitou, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, published her “Stop worrying about how much energy bitcoin uses” article, which tackles the notion that mining is inherently energy wasteful and thus dangerous to the environment.
Regarding the oft-quoted estimate that “BTC mining used 30 terawatt hours in 2017” – as much as Ireland, she explained:
“This is a lot, but not exorbitant. Banking consumes an estimated 100 terrawatts of power annually. If bitcoin technology were to mature by more than 100 times its current market size, it would still equal only 2% of all energy consumption.”
Methane ‘doesn’t get out of jail card’ for BTC
Batten, however, also points out that methane emissions are not a “get out of jail card” for bitcoin.
“We need to do both methane and CO2 reduction together,” he urged. “While methane is more lethal, carbon dioxide is much more prevalent. So reducing our emissions of each by 50% is super important.”
Willy Woo, a bitcoin analyst who examines the nuances of mining and the environment, said there is a need to revisit studies that claim crypto mining is bad for the climate.
“If you think bitcoin hurts the environment, dig deeper. It`s the best technology we have to accelerate the adoption of renewables,” Woo tweeted, quoting the argument by Batten.
