Making Bitcoin Carbon Negative with Daniel Batten

“We’re in a position – because of that cheap price of electricity – where the people who are doing this form of Bitcoin mining, they’ll be one of the most resilient on the network.”— Daniel BattenDaniel Batten is an author, analyst, environmental campaigner and investor in ClimateTech. In this interview, we discuss the challenges of convincing people about climate change, the importance of trust in government, and the potential positive impact of Bitcoin mining on the environment. We also talk about Daniel’s focus on accelerating Bitcoin mining’s use in reducing global landfill methane emissions.- - - - Bitcoin mining requires powerful computer hardware and consumes a considerable amount of electricity. In some locations, this energy is primarily sourced from fossil fuels. Critics claim that this leads to excessive carbon emissions and contributes to climate change. This is obviously a simplistic and false narrative; the true situation may at first seem counterintuitive, but Bitcoin is actually a powerful tool in the fight against climate change. Bitcoin mining incentivizes the use of renewable energy sources. Miners often seek areas with abundant cheap electricity, which lends itself to seeking out renewable sources of energy. This results in mining subsidising the build-out of renewable energy sources, which in turn facilitates the development of reliable and sustainable energy grids. But, perhaps the most exciting application of Bitcoin mining is in the use of waste methane. Around 30% of the rise in global temperatures is estimated to be due to methane emissions, and methane has 80 times more warming power than carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Further, 11% of global methane emissions come from landfill sites. The World Bank estimates that landfill emissions will grow 70% by 2050.As we heard in our podcast last year with Vespene Energy’s Adam Wright, waste methane is an amazing energy source for Bitcoin mining. The waste output is carbon dioxide, which is 80 times less potent than the methane input. Daniel Batten is seeking to accelerate the build-out of such technology. The aim is to generate 32 megawatts of power from landfills, offsetting the equivalent of 4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. That’s 10% of Bitcoin’s carbon footprint!In this podcast, Daniel explains the opportunities and challenges behind scaling up Bitcoin mining’s carbon-offsetting potential. The fund he co-founded, CH4 Capital, has a mission to offset 2% of global greenhouse emissions with a $500 million investment. The exciting thing for Bitcoiners is that using methane emissions from landfills is obviously just one of a number of sustainable applications. It’s just a matter of time before Greenpeace gets orange-pilled!- - - - This episode’s sponsors:Iris Energy - Bitcoin Mining. Done Sustainably Bitcasino - The Future of Gaming is hereLedger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletWasabi Wallet - Privacy by defaultUnchained - Secure your bitcoin with confidenceOrange Pill App - Stack friends who stack sats-----WBD714 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.