Massachusetts Senator Forwards Bill Aimed at Forcing Crypto Miners to Report Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-ORE), and Jared Huffman (D-CA) have introduced a bill which would require “an interagency study on the environmental and energy impacts of crypto asset mining.” Markey’s press release concerning the “Crypto Asset Environmental Transparency Act” details that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would lead the study.
In addition, the EPA would evaluate cryptocurrency mining in the United States, and operations would be required to disclose greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The press release specifies that enterprises obliged to disclose GHG emissions would be “operations that consume more than 5 megawatts of power.”
“Big-money (crypto mining) companies are undermining decades of progress in our fight against climate change by putting profits over the promise of our clean energy future – jeopardizing the reliability and safety of our grid in the process and making it all the more likely for utilities to raise energy prices on working families,” senator Markey said on Thursday.
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Representative Jared Huffman said the bill would finally pull “the curtain back on this industry.” Huffman added: “The time for transparency, oversight, and accountability is now.” The bureaucrats’ bill aims to combat so-called climate change, a narrative that U.S. politicians and leaders worldwide have been pushing for years. Markey’s opinions follow a number of studies and research reports that indicate operations like bitcoin (BTC) mining are actually advantageous, not only for relieving the grids leveraged but also removing carbon emissions.
Daniel Batten, an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) consultant, published a report claiming bitcoin mining could reduce 5.32 percent of the world’s carbon emissions. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) published a paper on bitcoin mining’s benefits to the Texas system on November 29, 2022. According to the ERCOT analysis, bitcoin mining businesses in Texas might save 1.7 GW of energy during the Texas winter.
Bitcoin mining is also known to mitigate flare gas (the release of raw gas into the atmosphere) and landfill gas. In the press release published on Thursday, however, U.S. senator Merkley argued that “Crypto asset mining consumes massive amounts of electricity” and stressed “most of which is generated by burning fossil fuels.” However, various studies over the years indicate that a majority of bitcoin mining operations are driven by renewable energy sources.
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The Sierra Club, Earthjustice, Environmental Working Group, and Seneca Lake Guardian support the bureaucrats’ act. “Digital assets that rely on proof-of-work are wasteful by design,” Scott Faber, the senior vice president for government affairs at the Environmental Working Group said in a statement. “Strong federal regulations must address” the situation, Earthjustice’s clean energy attorney Mandy DeRoche added.
