A letter has been sent to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) by several U.S. lawmakers highlighting findings from their investigation into the environmental impacts of crypto mining.
The lawmakers are also requesting these agencies to work together and ask crypto miners to report their emissions and energy use.
The letter has been sent by Congressman Jared Huffman, and U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren, Sheldon Whitehouse, Edward J. Markey and Jeff Merkley and Representative Rashida Tlaib.
In the letter, they laid down the details and findings of their investigation, as well as the responses from seven of the crypto miners to the lawmakers’ letters.
According to their findings, crypto miners –
- Use a substantial amount of energy equivalent to 1,045 MW capacity for crypto mining.
- Are significantly increasing production. The limited set of information provided by the seven crypto miners indicates that they will increase their total capacity by nearly 230%, enough new capacity to power a city of 1.9 million residences.
- Release substantial amounts of carbon emissions. Just three companies that provided clear emissions data are currently responsible for approximately 1.6 million tons emitted annually, the equivalent of almost 360,000 cars.
All of these findings are cause for alarm according to the lawmakers who write, “Our investigation suggests that the overall U.S. crypto mining industry is likely to be problematic for energy and emissions.”
Since these findings are based on the information provided by seven companies, the lawmakers are requesting the EPA and DOE to work together and ask crypto miners to report their emissions and energy use.
Also Read: Environmental Groups Urge US Govt to Tighten Bitcoin Mining Regulations
They wrote in the letter, “But little is known about the full scope of crypto mining activity. Given these conce56rns, it is imperative that your agencies work together to address the lack of information about cryptomining’s energy use and environmental impacts, and use all available authorities at your disposal… to require reporting of energy use and emissions from cryptominers.”
