The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-governmental environmental protection advocacy group, announced the launch of a $1 million advertising campaign. Its aim is to push Bitcoin to migrate from the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus algorithm to Proof-of-Stake (PoS).
Climate groups to bitcoin: Cut the pollution, and the B.S. https://t.co/qExsfJfDLd
— EWG (@ewg) September 15, 2022
«Ethereum showed, that it is possible to move to an energy-efficient protocol with far less climate, air and water pollution. […] Bitcoin has become an exception, demonstratively refusing to take responsibility for the climate», — said Michael Brune, head of the Change the Code, Not the Climate campaign.
According to the EWG, digital gold should take steps in this direction or risk becoming a cryptocurrency of the past.
The campaign was launched in March 2022 to pressure Bitcoin miners and investors. The new advertising strategy appeared after the activation The Merge and petition Greenpeace.
The latest called on Fidelity Investments to push Bitcoin toward adopting an energy-efficient protocol. The organization reminded of the firm’s plans to provide clients the ability to accumulate the asset on 401(k) retirement accounts.
«As of today, Fidelity is ignoring Bitcoin’s growing impact on the climate. It’s time for us to tell Fidelity: our planet cannot afford an early retirement,» the appeal reads.
Scott Faber, senior vice president of EWG for government affairs, told Cointelegraph that environmentalists would support any US government efforts to establish standards affecting miners. He said regulators “should not stay on the sidelines and hope for the best”.
«We expect the Bitcoin community to follow Ethereum’s example. […] We are not against digital assets, but we are concerned about the growth in energy consumption,» added Faber.
Earlier, the White House called The Merge the most notable response to calls to use less energy-intensive consensus mechanisms.
In April, a group of congressmen addressed the Environmental Protection Agency with a request to examine the mining industry for environmental risks and compliance with relevant laws.
In the same month, the New York State Assembly’s lower chamber backed a moratorium on crypto mining using electricity generated from carbon sources. Later the bill was approved by the local Senate.
Earlier this August, members of the US House Committee on Energy and Commerce sent mining companies Core Scientific, Riot Blockchain, Marathon Digital and Stronghold Digital a request to provide data on the environmental impact of their operations.
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