About Blockchain Sustainability/1
The future is decentralized, and decentralization can’t exist in the long term without achieving sustainability.
But what is sustainability? Most of the current discussions around the topic only focus on one dimension: energy consumption. But there’s a lot more than that.
Blockchain sustainability is a complex and multifaceted concept: it is about the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of human and technological development; it is about meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
That’s why is so important to push the analysis further than energy consumption, without neglecting it and this is also why, we want to briefly address each dimension, i.e. economic, social, and environmental, mentioning some related initiatives that may deserve our attention!
In this article, we’ll delve deeper into the first one, i.e. Environmental Sustainability, postponing the rest in our upcoming blog posts.
An energy-intensive technology undermining climate change mitigation or a game-changer for the governance of sustainability transitions?
The internet is divided regarding opinions on making blockchain networks more sustainable. For instance, some advocate that Bitcoin miners should opt for renewable energy sources for their high-end rigs instead of depending on non-renewable sources. Others suggest that transitioning to a different consensus mechanism, preferably an energy-efficient one, will be the best course of action.
In recent times, however, several promising initiatives have been launched to address the problem of blockchain technology’s environmental sustainability.
A first example is Quadrans, a sustainable blockchain that performs energy-efficient transactions. In March 2022, Quadrans Foundation released a review of the Quadrans network’s energy impact. The report revealed how Quadrans’ energy use compares to day-to-day activities, as well as other current blockchain networks — and highlights how the energy cost of Quadrans’ network transactions is nearly negligible compared to its social purpose in protecting and storing data.
Another example is Polygon’s Green Manifesto, announced on April 12, 2022, as part of a broader vision for sustainable development that includes the plan to achieve carbon-negative status in 2022. Polygon’s sustainability pledge comes ahead of Ethereum’s transition to a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, which will reduce the network’s energy consumption by almost 99 percent. After Ethereum transitions to PoS and the completion of CCRI analysis, Polygon will move beyond carbon neutrality to attain the carbon negative status.
Last but not least, we can talk about Tezos. Tezos, as a pioneering layer 1 Proof-of-Stake blockchain, has always been recognized as an energy-efficient alternative to more traditional Proof of Work blockchains. The total annual carbon footprint of the Tezos blockchain is equivalent to the average energy footprint of 17 global citizens. You can have a look at their official website for more information.
Moreover, studies and pioneering projects exploring how the technology can even accelerate the transition to clean energy and help combat climate change are rising exponentially over time. Some interesting insights on the topic can be found on the official websites of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the European Environment Agency (EEA).
No matter what, however, Blockchain technology needs to evolve still a lot to foster environmental sustainability at scale.
If you know any other news/projects/initiatives that should be taken into consideration to explore the relationship between Blockchain and Environmental sustainability, let us know in the comments!
