With all great revolutions come the unprecedented ramifications. NFTs are not any different either; despite all the craze behind NFTs, they have come under scrutiny for contributing to global warming. However, it does not mean there cannot be an environment-friendly approach while dealing with NFTs.
The Impact Of NFTs On The Environment
Talking of the lucrative crypto investment world, NFTs are believed to be the prime frontier. NFTs are gradually becoming digital equivalent to art pieces and collectibles. The tokens have accumulated millions of dollars of investment in different products already. As they continue to appeal to the masses, many people fear that their environmental fallouts can be detrimental. The most misunderstood reason cited is that a significant amount of energy would be consumed while adopting the NFTs, resulting in more carbon emissions. However, there is a lot to be researched before reaching out to any conclusion. Printing fiat currency, producing coins, credit and debit cards, etc., also result in carbon emission in one way or the other.
Blockchains & NFT Platforms To Move To Energy-efficient Concepts To Curb Global Warming
Even after revolutionizing the digital universe, NFTs have come under controversy from the sustainability viewpoint. Some people believe that NFTs come with unique challenges, and the impact of NFTs on the environment has been explicitly under the scanner. The reason is that a significant section of the NFTs comes as a part of the Ethereum blockchain. Under the present protocols, it is energy-intensive. However, as Ethereum switches to the proof of stake concept from the proof of work concept, the energy consumption is set to come down significantly. And platforms such as Palm have already started to embrace this change. Besides, as more energy-efficient Blockchains and NFT platforms hit the market with a negligible carbon footprint, the argument that NFTs add towards global warming would hold no substance.
Balancing The Environmental Impact
The NFT market is expanding. Along with it, green-conscious collectors and artists are looking for a viable remedy to mitigate the impact of NFTs on the environment. They are increasingly moving towards platforms that incorporate lower-carbon systems. This way, they use NFTs while offsetting the level of emission.
One of the leading platforms focusing on digital collectibles has already paired up with an organization called Aspiration. While the platform uses the Ethereum blockchain, Aspiration has developed a software called Plant Your Change. This financial service organization enables customers to use the spare change automatically from every purchase for planting trees. Of course, it is a welcome move from the NFT platform, and others are likely to follow the change.
The solution to counter the sustainability concerns regarding NFTs lie in adopting an eco-friendly stance from the business perspective. Being environmentally accountable holds the key to grow a sustainable economy out of NFTs successfully.
Conclusion
Any development, ranging from industrial sectors to housing, comes with an adverse effect on the environment, either big or small. Hence, there are clear guidelines to follow in activities associated with such sectors. In the case of NFTs, too, a similar approach is imperative on the lines of ‘green development’ or ‘eco-friendly constructions.’ This way, the global community would be capitalizing on the exceptional opportunities in the NFT world. It is all about how organizations shape their policies to ensure sustainable growth and mitigate global warming. Stakeholders involved in NFTs are well aware of this, continually working on making the process as energy-efficient as possible. Hence, investors, traders, digital art collectors, and others who want to get started or are already involved with NFTs can rest assured that their actions will not have any negative impact on the environment, such as leading to global warming.
