The US OSTP Opens Public Comments on the Climate Implications of Digital Assets

The United States Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has invited comments on the energy and climate implications of digital assets.

Interested organizations and persons, including the public, are therefore invited to submit comments on or before 5 pm ET on May 9th, 2022.

OSTP Tasked by President Biden to Sumit a Report on the Climate Impact of Digital Assets

The US Office of Science and Technology Policy was tasked by President Biden through an executive order, to submit a report that investigates the potential for digital assets ‘to impede or advance efforts to tackle climate change and the transition to a clean and reliable electricity grid’.

President Biden signed the Executive Order on March 9th, 2022, which outlines the US government’s strategy to ‘harness the benefits and mitigate the risks of digital assets, including the implications for energy use and the climate’.

Digital assets are particularly in the spotlight, as the United States has committed to combating the climate crisis by reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

How to Submit Comments

To submit comments, one simply has to send an email to [email protected] and include ‘RFI Response: Climate Implications of Digital Assets’ in the subject line of the email.

What to Include in the Comments

Each responding entity is requested to send only one response.

Responses may address one or as many topics desired from the list provided below by the RFI.

  1. Protocols – information on the climate impacts of the various blockchain protocols used by digital assets
  2. Hardware – the climate impacts of the physical components that run the blockchain networks
  3. Resources – information about the resources used to sustain and power digital assets
  4. Economics – details on how the energy use of digital assets affects the ‘the value of, demand for, and supply of particular digital assets or their underlying infrastructure’
  5. Past or ongoing mitigation attempts – information on past or ongoing attempts to reduce the climate impacts of digital assets
  6. Potential energy or climate benefits – the possibilities on how digital assets can yield positive energy or climate impacts

[Office of Science and Technology Policy Logo courtesy of the US Government]

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