Bitfury partners with UNDP to offset carbon footprint in Kazakhstan

Credit: Kazakhstan Tianshan – Pixabay

The Dutch company specializing in the mining of cryptocurrencies, Bitfury, supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), aims to compensate for its greenhouse gas emissions at kazakhstan.

While cryptocurrency mining, including bitcoins, is often singled out for environmental impact, the European number 1 in the sector, Bitfury, wishes to offset its carbon footprint at kazakhstan, a country that attracts many crypto-mining companies.

The local daily AstanaTimes reports that Bitfury, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), will sign an agreement at the end of January with the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan to create forests in the province of Pavlodar.

"This is the first carbon reduction initiative with a private actor for Kazakhstan and we hope it will accelerate the country's efforts," said Yakup Beris, UNDP representative in Kazakhstan.

The initiative thus tends to create forests aimed at offsetting the carbon footprint of Bitfury in the huge country of West Asia. The company initially plans to plant trees on 20 hectares.

Bitfury will consume coal-fired electricity and the carbon footprint produced by electricity suppliers will be offset by 100 to 110%, "says Meruyert Sarsembayeva, expert at BIOFIN.

The project is part of the Initiative BioReady, launched by the UNDP in 2016 and whose aim is to mobilize financial resources for biodiversity and sustainable development.

In order to fulfill its commitment under the Paris climate agreement, the kazakhstan must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 15% before 2030.