The Metaverse continues to develop and evolve each day and with-it new possibilities regarding its application and usefulness emerge. It is very easy to get caught in this constant cycle of looking for the ‘next step’ without having the notion to ‘look up’ occasionally and question what will this cost? This cost is not purely limited to the financial aspect, for example the environmental cost must be considered. It is not insignificant and if handled incorrectly could potentially negatively contribute to the already growing climate change crisis.
According to statista one Ethereum transaction uses up 60% more energy than 100,000 credit card transactions on average. Given that Ethereum currently is one of the staple hold currencies circulating throughout the Metaverse the pollution cost alone is staggering. This isn’t even including NFT and Bitcoin transactions as Bitcoin consumes 14 times more energy than credit card transactions on average. Likewise, the average NFT transaction produces 48kg of CO2 which is roughly equivalent to using 18L of diesel.
You might be wondering well if the cost of running and maintaining the Metaverse seems to be quite substantial then why even bother, especially at a time where we must be doing everything to reduce pollution? The answer to this is the Metaverse despite producing pollution to run itself, has a very large potential to reduce emissions in other industries and sectors. An easy example of this is business travel. Before the COVID pandemic, air travel contributed an estimated 2.5% of global emissions according to Time. Due to the limitations that came with the pandemic, business were forced to connect and collaborate virtually. With the Metaverse offering a way to bridge the gap between the quality of a face-face meeting and the limited authenticity in current virtual meetings, air travel for business purposes will undoubtedly start to decline.
Given that the Metaverse is only now starting to emerge, we are presented with quite a unique opportunity to shape it as we see fit. It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that these new technologies help current issues and not contribute to them. If molded correctly it will ensure that unsustainable practices that plague the physical world do not seep into the virtual world, allowing a space for seemingly endless possibilities to develop and hopefully change the world for the better.
For more information of what the Metaverse is consider reading The Meaning Of The Metaverse Is Not 42.
