The British branch of the NGO World Wildlife Fund (WWF) prematurely ended its operation to sell NFT
representing animals in danger of extinction following the outcry of many environmentalists and individuals.
The WWF is accused of going against its fight to save nature by using blockchain networks deemed incredibly polluting.
A hidden reality?
As you know, NFTs unleash passions in the most literal sense of the word. A tool for sharing and preserving art for some, ecological disaster and gigantic scams for others. So, when an organization as large and reputable as the WWF announced at the end of last January that it was partnering with Polygon, a blockchain network solution attached to Ethereum, which is faster, less expensive and ” eco-friendly many eyebrows raised.
Indeed, many experts and individuals have accused the NGO of participating, by using blockchain networks, in the acceleration of global warming and of not having sufficiently analyzed the problems brought about by these networks.
This is particularly the case of the Dutchman Alex de Vries, an expert economist in digital currencies interviewed by The Verge following the publication of an article on his site Digiconomistwhich quickly dismantled the argument put forward by the WWF (the use of an eco-responsible blockchain network for this project) by arguing that a single transaction on Polygon would be 2,100 times more polluting than estimated by the non-governmental organization.
Polygon implicated
Indeed, according to de Vries, the second strain Polygon solution would be equivalent to the establishment of a lane reserved for carpools on the Ethereum highway: there are fewer people on this lane and it is therefore faster and cheaper. travel. But this lane adds even more cars to an already clogged highway. Admittedly, people passing through Polygon pollute less individually, but they still participate from a more global point of view in an increase in the pollution generated by Ethereum.
So it was by making this argument, coupled with data showing that Ethereum consumes as much electricity in a year as the Netherlands and has as high a carbon footprint as Singapore, that de Vries and many other voices raised against the WWF UK project. So much pollution generated for an animal conservation project is counterproductive.
The organization finally decided to end its NFT sale on February 4, just a day after launching it. This did not prevent the German branch of the NGO from raising 250,000 euros with this same process.
Sources: The Verge
, Digiconomist
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