Climate activists celebrate Hochul-backed crypto mining moratorium

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Eric Weltman said Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recently signed cryptocurrency mining moratorium is a victory for New York state’s communities and climate.

“It was a coalition pitted against wealthy financial interests, the fossil fuel industry and extreme right wing political players. But with incredible commitment and a lot of hard work, we triumphed by signing the moratorium bill,” Weltman, a senior organizer at Food & Water Watch, said.

The Seneca Lake Guardian – an organization advocating for the protection of Seneca Lake – hosted a community event for activists and local politicians over Zoom Monday to celebrate the moratorium and push for further actions like shutting down local cryptocurrency mines.

Assemblymember Anna Kelles, who represents Cortland and Ithaca in New York’s 125th assembly district, said she’s grateful for Hochul’s efforts to ensure New York meets its “critically important” climate goals.

“Governor Hochul will do the right thing by putting real New Yorkers over these failing outside speculators who care more about lining their own pockets than they do about the planet,” Kelles said.

On Nov. 22, Gov. Hochul signed the two-year moratorium to restrict cryptocurrency mining operations throughout the state.

Yvonne Taylor, vice president of Seneca Lake Guardian, said the bill puts a two-year pause on new and renewed air permits for fossil fuel power plants which house proof of work cryptocurrency mining.

Cryptocurrencies use proof of work as a mechanism to verify new transactions to blockchain, a decentralized ledger of all transactions. This mechanism allows miners to cultivate more cryptocurrency to sell for profit later.

Over the course of the two-year moratorium, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation will conduct a study, which it has yet to outline publicly, on crypto mining’s environmental impacts.

The second part of the bill, Kelles said, enables the NYS DEC to conduct a full environmental impact assessment on the state’s ability to reach current climate goals. By 2050 the state aims to reduce greenhouse gasses by 85 percent using the 1990 level benchmark.

“This is an important step, and we must keep working together to protect our communities from the worst effects of climate change,” Kelles said.

Kelles said organizations should all continue to advocate for more support and more funding for the NYS DEC.

“Because we know that those climate goals are some of the most aggressive and ambitious in the country,” she said. “And it will lean very heavily on the DEC to make sure that they happen to make sure that we meet them along with other agencies within the state.”

Elizabeth Moran, a New York policy advocate at EarthJustice, said the legislation is a fundamental step. Following recent research which found that crypto mining is tied to climate concerns, Moran said the legislation aligns with an increasing need to invest in climate.

“It’ll be very important for New York state to look this through. Other states and Congress should look to New York as a leader. It’s thrilling because this step really is another sign of New York state’s leadership,” Moran said.

Locals near Seneca Lake have said existing crypto miners – that aren’t affected by the new law – in New York are heating up the lake and polluting the air around it. Taylor called on Hochul to shut down Greenidge Generation – a local bitcoin mining company – in order to protect the Finger Lakes.

Taylor, who said she started a coalition of communities that have been impacted by crypto mining across the country, added that organizations and community members in the network are watching New York state carefully.

“As a community that is impacted by the crypto mining industry every single day, we understand how harmful and threatening this industry can be,” she said. “Communities across the country are also understanding these impacts.”