Christian Stoll

Technische Universität München | TUM · TUM School of Management

Christian Stoll is a research affiliate at the Center for Energy Markets of the Technical University of Munich and at the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He co-founded CCRI and works as a management consultant. His research focuses on the intersection of sustainability and cryptocurr...

Global integrated reporting is essential if the planet is to achieve net-zero emissions. Global integrated reporting is essential if the planet is to achieve net-zero emissions. A gas flare is seen in the centre of the frame at an oil well site A gas flare is seen in the centre of the frame at an oil well site

In the Spring of 2021, the mining crackdown in China shook up global Bitcoin mining activity. We show that this crackdown may have reduced the use of renewable electricity sources for Bitcoin mining, resulting in increased carbon intensity of mining activities. We estimate that Bitcoin mining may beresponsible for 65.4 MtCO2 annually, which is comp...

The energy consumption and related carbon emissions of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are subject to extensive discussion in public, academia, and industry. As cryptocurrencies continue their journey into mainstream finance, incentives to participate in the networks and consume energy to do so remain significant. First guidance on how to allocate...

Global greenhouse gas emissions need to reach net-zero around mid-century to limit global warming to 1.5 °C. This decarbonization challenge has, inter alia, increased the political and societal pressure on companies to disclose their carbon footprints. As a response, numerous companies announced roadmaps to become carbon neutral or even negative. T...

Bitcoin’s increasing energy consumption has triggered a passionate debate about the sustainability of the digital currency. And yet, most studies have thus far ignored that Bitcoin miners cycle through a growing amount of short-lived hardware that could exacerbate the growth in global electronic waste. E-waste represents a growing threat to our env...

Pricing carbon to address climate change sparks divisions like few other policy options. From street riots to academic debate, it has stirred both passionate and principled disagreement, leaving scarce room for compromise between advocates and critics. Among scholars, what used to be nearly unanimous support for carbon pricing has ceded way to a mo...

The digital currency Bitcoin is known for its energy hunger and associated carbon footprint. Investors, how-ever, must not neglect further environmental, social, and governance issues related to digital currencies. Therefore, we urge the adoption of a more comprehensive view in assessing the externalities of investments in Bitcoin and other cryptoc...

The carbon footprint of Bitcoin has drawn wide attention, but Bitcoin's long-term impact on the climate remains uncertain. Here we present a framework to overcome uncertainties in previous estimates and project Bitcoin's electricity consumption and carbon footprint in the long term. If we assume Bitcoin's market capitalization grows in line with th...

Global greenhouse gas emissions need to reach net-zero around mid-century to limit global warming to 1.5°C. This decarbonization challenge has, inter alia, increased the political and societal pressure on companies to disclose their carbon footprints. As a response, numerous companies announced roadmaps to become carbon neutral or even negative. Th...

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered the largest drop in greenhouse gas emissions since World War II. Evolving mobility patterns, in particular, have shown the short-term mitigation potential of behavioral change. Sustaining such changes could abate 15% of all transportation emissions with limited net impacts on societal w...

Ulrich Gallersdörfer is a research associate in the Department of Informatics at the Technical University of Munich. His research focuses on identity management in blockchains. His interest extends to further aspects of the technology, ranging from environmental implications to data analytics applications. Lena Klaaßen is a graduate student at TUM...

Participation in the Bitcoin blockchain validation process requires specialized hardware and vast amounts of electricity, which translates into a significant carbon footprint. Here, we demonstrate a methodology for estimating the power consumption associated with Bitcoin’s blockchain based on IPO filings of major hardware manufacturers, insights on...