EU to Introduce Environmental Labelling System for Blockchain Energy

EU officials have expressed that they want to create a standard for rating the efficiency of blockchains in terms of energy consumption. The European Commission’s larger plans to regulate the energy use of the ICT industry consist of the environmental labeling system for data centers, the energy label for PCs, and to increase transparency on the energy consumption of telecommunications services.

Energy Commissioner, Kadri Simson, said that the aim is to increase the efficiency of our energy system and groom it for an increasing share of renewable energy sources. And to achieve this, more innovative digital solutions and a smarter and more interactive grid are needed.

A number of government-led initiatives will help subsidize the exploration of digital technologies’ potential impact on the energy industry. There was no indication of the possibility of the assistance trickling down to the cryptocurrency industry.

As compared to countries like China, which have put in place explicit prohibitions on cryptocurrency mining, the European Union so far has taken a rather lenient stance on the practice.

Furthermore, the European Parliament’s Economics and Monetary Affairs Committee voted against a prohibition on proof-of-work (PoW) crypto mining in March 2022, and the relevant phrase was later removed from the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) by 2023 end.