, Columnist
How the Oldest Digital Currency Could Solve the Climate Crisis
The IMF’s Special Drawing Rights should be mustered to fight climate catastrophe as they were against Covid-19.
Without money, the energy transition is blowing in the wind.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The collapse of the crypto market this year looks like unalloyed good news for the global climate.
Annual emissions from digital currencies amount to about 140 million metric tons of carbon dioxide — similar to the combined footprint of the 110 million people in the Philippines. A move in September to cut more than 99% of power consumption by Ethereum, one of the most popular cryptocurrencies, certainly helps. Getting rid of the whole casino would be better.