New York State’s proposal to suspend Proof-of-Work (PoW) fossil fuel mining for three years statewide received support from two other association members.
Members Amy Boleyn and Ken Zibrowski named themselves, along with 43 other sponsors of Bill A7389B.
In addition to suspending mining for three years at former fossil fuel power plants, the bill would require the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to evaluate the state’s crypto mining industry. The assessment will determine impacts on water, air quality and greenhouse gas emissions.
New York State Rep. Anna Kellis said in February that information from the NYSDEC assessment will help determine whether a total mining ban is in place “if it’s necessary to ensure industry doesn’t get in the way of us achieving our climate goals.” the state legislature last May.
The bill would require the support of a majority of members of the House to send it to the governor for final approval to become law. Currently, only 45 of the 150 members of the Assembly support the bill, so it is still a long way from its entry into force.
Gov. Juman Williams has also expressed support for the legislation due to environmental concerns and what are seen as the negative economic impacts of mining.
Crypto Proof of Work mining requires the use of specially designed computers to execute the mathematical equations needed to create new blocks on the blockchain. Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) are the most popular Proof of Work chains today, but Ethereum is expected to move to PoS this year and stop using energy-intensive mining operations.
The environmental impact of proof-of-work mining has been an important topic of discussion for environmentalists for many years. However, CoinShares has shown that only 0.08% of the world’s carbon emissions come from bitcoin mining. Additionally, Slush Pool marketing manager Christian Chepkar pointed out to Cointelegraph on Feb. 14 that much of the focus on green mining is “marketing noise” due to ambiguous or questionable processes that can produce green energy.
Related Topics: The climate-focused hyphen aims to hold companies accountable for providing environmental data.
Last October, companies in New York State petitioned Gov. Katie Hochhol to deny permission for cryptocurrency miners to start working at idle power plants. They cited huge energy needs, the growing problem of e-waste, and the country’s climate goals as reasons for the denial of permits.
