Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to consider the energy use of cryptocurrencies as part of their preparations for COP26 and other international meetings on climate change during 2021; and what plans they have to investigate how cryptocurrencies affect their requirements for public and private sector organisations to meet climate change targets.

The Government has been monitoring developments within the cryptoasset industry, including rising energy usage.

The Cryptoasset Taskforce, comprising HM Treasury, the FCA, and the Bank of England, explores the impact of cryptoassets and assesses what, if any, regulation is required in response.

The Government has already taken actions to signal a commitment to green technology, including a pledge to make Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) aligned financial disclosures mandatory across the economy by 2025, making the UK the first G20 nation to make such a commitment.

Additionally, the Government has committed to the implementation of a green taxonomy. This will allow us to accelerate our work towards a greener financial sector, by providing a common definition for environmentally sustainable economy activities.

The Government’s objective for the upcoming COP26 climate change forum is to ensure that every professional financial decision takes climate change into account. The recovery from COVID-19 will determine the mitigation and adaptation pathways for decades to come. We must all do our part – we are working with the financial services sector, international financial institutions, central banks, regulators, and finance ministries to unlock rapid action at scale.

The finance campaign will provide the conditions for a future that is genuinely greener, more resilient and more sustainable than the past. Action on finance underpins all the other COP campaigns: adaptation & resilience, energy transition, nature and zero-emission vehicles. Without the right levels of finance, the rest is not possible.

The Government stands ready to respond to emerging risks or changes in the market and will continue to monitor how cryptoassets are being used in the UK.