Deep Tide TechFlow news, on November 22, according to The Verge, an important report was released by the Global Solidarity Tax Working Group led by Kenya, Barbados, and France at the upcoming United Nations Climate Conference. The working group proposed to impose a climate tax on cryptocurrency mining activities, calculated at a tax rate of $0.045 per kilowatt-hour, which is expected to generate about $5.2 billion in revenue annually to support climate action.
Research by Shafik Hebous, Deputy Director of the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department, shows that a single Bitcoin transaction consumes as much electricity as a Ghanaian resident does in three years or a German resident does in three months. If the air pollution caused by burning fossil fuels is taken into account, the proposed tax rate would increase to $0.085 per kilowatt-hour.
It is reported that the annual electricity consumption of the Bitcoin network has surpassed that of most individual countries. The main objectives of this proposal include: encouraging mining companies to adopt more efficient mining equipment, promoting a transition to renewable energy, and considering more energy-efficient transaction verification methods. At the same time, this tax revenue will be used to help underdeveloped countries transition to renewable energy and address the impacts of climate change.
The working group initially planned to focus primarily on taxing fossil fuel companies, aviation, and shipping industries, but has now expanded its scope to include billionaires, plastic production, and cryptocurrency mining. The working group plans to submit a specific taxation proposal at the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in April 2025.
