Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Tackling climate change with blockchain

Concern about the carbon footprint of Bitcoin is not holding back blockchain developers from leveraging the technology for action on climate change. Although blockchain technology is enabling individuals and businesses to manage their carbon emissions, the social and environmental costs and benefits of doing so remain unclear.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Statistics: Total Primary Energy Supply (TPES) by Source, World 1990–2016 (IEA, accessed 3 July 2019); https://go.nature.com/318uBiG

  2. de Vries, A. Joule 2, 801–805 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Narayanan, A., Bonneau, J., Felten, E., Miller, A. & Goldfeder, S. Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies (Princeton Univ. Press, 2016).

  4. Mora, C. et al. Nat. Clim. Change 8, 931–933 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Bendiksen, C. & Gibbons, S. The Bitcoin Mining Network: Trends, Average Creation Costs, Electricity Consumption & Sources (CoinShares Research, 2019); https://go.nature.com/2LQMHm0

  6. Krause, M. J. & Tolaymat, T. Nat. Sustain. 1, 711–718 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Stoll, C., Klaaßen, L. & Gallersdörfer, U. Joule 3, 1647–1661 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Howson, P., Oakes, S., Baynham-Herd, Z. & Swords, J. Geoforum 100, 1–9 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Huckle, S. & White, M. Future Internet 8, 49–64 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Gil-Pulger, J. ‘Ethereum 2.0’ PoS blockchain aims to cut energy use by 99% Bitcoinist (4 January 2019); https://bitcoinist.com/ethereum-pos-blockchain-cut-energy/

  11. The Solution (Poseidon, 2019); https://poseidon.eco/solution.html

  12. Lang, C. Can buying Ben & Jerry’s ice cream save the Cordillera Azul National Park in Peru? REDD-Monitor (9 November 2018); https://go.nature.com/2MuOoEX

  13. Enrici, A. & Hubacek, K. Ecol. Soc. 23, 7 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Carbon offsets are not our get-out-of-jail free card UNEP (10 June 2019); https://go.nature.com/2ysg9Gi

  15. Booman, G. et al. Regen Network Whitepaper (accessed 3 June 2018); https://www.regen.network/whitepaper.pdf

  16. Howson, P. Conserv. Soc. 15, 125–135 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter Howson.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Howson, P. Tackling climate change with blockchain. Nat. Clim. Chang. 9, 644–645 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-019-0567-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-019-0567-9

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing Anthropocene

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Anthropocene newsletter — what matters in anthropocene research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Anthropocene