Climate Activists, Billionaire Launch Campaign to Tackle Bitcoin's Impact on Environment

blockchain.news:

Bitcoin’s impact on the environment is about to face the limelight as several climate activist organizations such as Greenpeace and crypto billionaire Chris Larsen are launching a campaign to tackle its power usage system, Bloomberg reported.

The campaign titled “Change the Code, Not the Climate” is trying to push the Bitcoin society to change the way it orders transactions. According to Bloomberg, Bitcoin transactions consume as much power as Sweden.

Larsen said in an interview that Bitcoin might consume as much power as Japan in five years’ time.

Over the next months, the campaign will purchase advertisements in leading publications. Bloomberg said that Greenpeace, Environmental Working Group and some local activist groups have begun working on grassroots efforts to battle Bitcoin miners.

According to the person in charge of the campaign — Michael Brune, the team has already reached several key people and corporations. Some of them have pledged Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) compliance, even though they are involved in Bitcoin.

“We are in this campaign for the long haul, but we are hoping — particularly since Bitcoin is now being financed by entities and individuals who care about climate change — that we can compel leadership to agree that this is a problem that needs to be addressed,” said Brune. “Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, PayPal, Venmo, Fidelity — there are lots of companies we anticipate will be helpful to this effort.”

The campaign also said that a supporting cause is increasing frustration in some communities in the U.S. that have found themselves hosting Bitcoin miners and dealing with issues such as excessive noise.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s rival, Ethereum, is working on a software overhaul to become