Three United States lawmakers have introduced legislation that would direct the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, to report on the energy usage and environmental impact of crypto miners.<\/p>\n
In a Dec. 8 announcement, California Representative Jared Huffman and Massachusetts Senate Ed Markey said they were \u201csounding the alarm\u201d the energy use from crypto mining in the United States, claiming that Bitcoin (BTC) miners accounted for roughly 1.4% of the country\u2019s electricity consumption. Together with Senator Jeff Merkley, the lawmakers introduced the Crypto-Asset Environmental Transparency Act, aimed at instructing the EPA to report on mining activity consuming more than 5 megawatts.<\/p>\n
\u201cGranting this industry impunity to inflict such environmental harm runs counter to numerous federal policies, and we need to understand the full harm this industry presents,\u201d said Huffman. \u201cMy bill with Senator Markey will require cryptomining facilities to report their carbon dioxide emissions, as well as a detailed interagency study on crypto\u2019s environmental impacts \u2014 finally pulling the curtain back on this industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Markey and Huffman cited concerns over climate change as part of their reasons to expeditiously act in regulating the crypto industry. A draft of the bill included claims of \u201cnoise and water pollution\u201d caused by miners.<\/p>\n
Scott Faber, the Environmental Working Group\u2019s senior vice president for government affairs, voiced support for the legislation, calling proof-of-work cryptocurrencies \u201cwasteful by design\u201d and claiming BTC and other tokens would incentivize miners to use more electricity:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe recently completed ethereum merge and past code changes show that transformation by the bitcoin community is possible \u2014 the way we\u2019ve all adapted to new ways of powering our homes and cars and how we grow our food […] Every industry, including the financial sector, can reduce its electricity use and greenhouse gas emissions. Adding more electricity demand \u2013 as proof of work mining will ultimately require \u2013 sends us in the wrong direction.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n