Axios Generate: The climate dimensions of bitcoin and remote work

Plus, the Permian Basin pulse and what's new in the Beltway | Thursday, March 25, 2021

Open in app View in browser   Presented By American Clean Power   Generate By Ben Geman ·Mar 25, 2021 Good morning readers! Today's Smart Brevity count is 1,140 words, 4 minutes. Was this email forwarded to you? You can sign up here. 🎶 And happy birthday to the late legend Aretha Franklin, who has today's intro tune...     1 big thing: Tackling global warming means sweating the small stuff Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   Bitcoin's rise won't cook the planet and avoiding car commutes by working from home won't save it. But both trends still matter. Driving the news: There's connective tissue between two pieces of news. Tesla, which invested $1.5 billion in bitcoin, said yesterday that it's now accepting bitcoin as payment for its electric cars as it pledged last month. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives calls it "a potential game changing move for the use of Bitcoin from a transactional perspective." (Note: "Potential" is doing some work there.) But digital bitcoin "mining" to process transactions requires lots of electricity, prompting fears that greatly expanding its use — something Tesla won't do alone — will light the fuse on a carbon bomb. Separately, data analytics startup Watershed — which helps clients cut emissions — just unveiled an interactive tool that creates estimates of remote work policies' climate effects. The calculator arrives as many companies and organizations are giving employees the option to continue remote work — partially or completely — after the pandemic. Why it matters: Scientists say steep emissions cuts need to be happening now to keep the Paris Agreement's goals within reach. So it's worth paying attention to things that can make those cuts harder, like bitcoin, or potentially easier, like working from home (but it's complicated). The intrigue: A note from Bank of America Global Research warns that environmentally minded investors already need to pay attention to the "enormous environmental costs of Bitcoin." "Given the relatively linear relationship between Bitcoin prices and Bitcoin energy use, it is perhaps no surprise that Bitcoin's estimated energy consumption has grown over 200% in the past two years," BofA analysts find in the March 17 report. They estimate bitcoin's energy consumption is already larger than Greece's and CO2 emissions linked to bitcoin are of the same magnitude as the U.S. government and American Airlines. Bloomberg has much more. Yes, but: Estimates of bitcoin's energy consumption vary widely, and future advances in efficiency and expansion of zero-carbon electricity can act as counterweights. What's next: Meanwhile, the effect of emissions from reshaped work patterns is hard to pin down. It involves calculations that consider fuel savings (which may prove pretty minor worldwide), but also heating and cooling homes that are now more frequently occupied, while keeping those systems on in partially occupied offices, too. And ending the traditional office model gives workers more flexibility to live farther away — and perhaps in larger homes that require more energy and create longer commutes when workers do travel. Where it stands: The new calculator is a less granular version of the kinds of services that Watershed promotes to clients, and it's a way of looking at decisions that will become front and center for many companies.     Bonus: More on the new remote work calculator The online tool from Watershed enables users to input various kinds of info to help gauge whether changing policies will increase or decrease emissions — and by approximately how much. How it works: Right now the public calculator from Watershed — whose clients include Shopify and Stripe — models five regions: San Francisco, New York City, Houston, London and Toronto. Inputs for current policy and projected policy changes include... The number of employees and how many days per week they'll be in the office. Employees' living patterns (suburbs vs. urban cores) and commuting methods — cars, trains or biking and walking. The size of offices, which matters for their use of power and natural gas. Whether the company buys clean power and gives that option for remote workers.     2. Oil falls as COVID trumps Suez jam Satellite photo: European Space Agency Copernicus Sentinel-2 Satellite/Maxar Technologies via Reuters   There's still a massive container ship stuck in the Suez Canal, which is a key oil transit point, but crude oil prices are nonetheless dropping this morning. Why it matters: The decline show traders responding to the pandemic's persistence and fresh restrictions in Europe, analysts said. "The concerns about a delayed recovery in demand still persists in the market sentiment as the count of COVID-19 infections from Europe to India start to scare again," Rystad Energy analyst Bjornar Tonhaugen said in a note. Tonhaugen also said, "The Suez Canal is a major supply route, but not the only one, so the [oil] market will not really be hit with any major imbalance, except if the bottleneck persists for much longer than expected." The big picture: "Despite the recent selloff, oil is still up more than 20% this year and there is confidence in the longer-term outlook for demand as coronavirus vaccinations accelerate worldwide while OPEC+ output cuts tighten supply," Bloomberg notes. Go deeper: Rescuers say container ship stuck in Suez could take weeks to unblock     A message from American Clean Power America's lowest-cost, fastest growing source of power     From cost-effective solutions to the climate crisis, to massive investments in the American economy and job creation, American Clean Power's members are turning America's enormous clean power potential into reality. Learn more about what's next for ACP at cleanpower.org     3. A mixed picture in the U.S. oil patch Data: Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios The Dallas Fed is out with its latest quarterly snapshot of oil-and-gas metrics in its district, which includes the prolific but pandemic-battered shale regions in Texas and New Mexico. Why it matters: The survey of oil-and-gas companies and contractors finds that the sector's activity "expanded strongly" in the first quarter of 2021. "With the recent recovery in oil prices, the majority of firms in the survey can profitably drill a new well at current prices," it notes in discussing the chart you see above. Yes, but: Via Reuters coverage of the report... "While improved oil prices have boosted expectations for 2021, executives are cautious about the potential for Biden administration oil and gas policy changes or the threat that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and partners could easily return oil to the global market." What we're watching: Jobs. Last year's price and production declines led to significant layoffs. 53% of executives surveyed said they expect their employee count next December to be unchanged from December of 2020, while 39% expect some increase.     4. Beltway notes: Cars, Treasury, nominations Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios   A bunch of Capitol Hill Democrats are pressing President Biden to re-instate Obama-era carbon emissions and mileage rules for passenger cars — and then go much further. Driving the news: 10 Senate Democrats and dozens of House Democrats, in letters yesterday, call for standards through 2025 that at least match prior rules weakened under President Trump. The letters also urge Biden to set a "more ambitious long-term standard" that will drive down emissions and spur the adoption of electric cars. And they call for setting a date that ends sales of fossil-fuel-powered vehicles, citing 2035 targets in California and Massachusetts. Why it matters: It shows pressure on Biden to aggressively use existing powers — even as the White House is gearing up to float big new legislative spending proposals. Signers of the letter led by Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey include Sen. Richard Durbin, who is the chamber's number two Democrat, and high-profile progressive Elizabeth Warren. A few more Beltway items of note... White House: Next Wednesday in Pittsburgh, Biden plans to unveil more about his infrastructure proposal to Congress that's expected to include big climate and energy provisions. Treasury: Today's meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Council will include a session on the effects of climate change on the financial system, signaling financial regulators' deepening role there. Nominations: Yesterday the full Senate overwhelmingly confirmed David Turk as deputy secretary of Energy. More nominations: A Senate committee yesterday advanced Brenda Mallory to head the White House Council on Environmental Quality and Janet McCabe to be EPA's deputy administrator.     A message from American Clean Power America's lowest-cost, fastest growing source of power     From cost-effective solutions to the climate crisis, to massive investments in the American economy and job creation, American Clean Power's members are turning America's enormous clean power potential into reality. Learn more about what's next for ACP at cleanpower.org     Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: