NFT - Non fungible tokens - is based on the same blockchain technology as cryptocurrencies.

for example Bitcoin.

Producing them requires extremely much energy.

Erik Agrell, professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering at Chalmers, explains why:

- The blockchain is distributed in many copies over a global data network.

In this network, there are millions of computers organized in huge data halls that make demanding calculations.

These networks consume a lot of energy, he says.

Consumes more than all of Sweden's electric cars

Interest in NFT art has exploded over the past year, and the industry is turning over more and more money.

Auktionshuset Christies clubbed an NFT collage of pictures by the NFT artist Beeple for almost 650 million Swedish kronor last year.

Artists like Madonna, Paris Hilton and Justin Bieber buy digital images of monkeys for millions of dollars.

NFT trading is usually done with a cryptocurrency called Ethereum.

It is not as energy consuming as Bitcoin, but still requires large amounts of energy.

Exactly how much energy the NFT trade consumes is difficult to say.

- I would estimate that the NFT industry as a whole consumes between two and three terawatt hours per year.

This is twice as much as all solar electricity produced in Sweden.

Or ten times more than what all Swedish electric cars consume, says Erik Agrell.

What will be the climate footprint for each NFT then?

- It is difficult to say but you can make a simplified calculation.

About 30 million NFTs are sold in one year.

It will be just under 100 kWh per NFT transaction.

It is more energy than if you have the oven on continuously for a week, then it consumes 80 kWh.



The art form receives criticism

Gunnar Harrius is a financial journalist and runs the podcast They call us crypto.

- The debate about NFT and environmental impact exists, really.

Many people think that this is a speculation bubble that also draws a lot of energy, without there being any point, he says.

At the same time, many in the crypto world believe that it is justified.

- Those who defend this believe that NFT is a building block with which they will build the next internet, web 3.0.

There, NFT technology will play a crucial role in creating a completely new digital infrastructure that all people on earth will be able to take part in.

If that happens, it may be reasonable for it to draw some energy, he says.

Change may be underway

But a change may be underway.

There is another type of blockchain that does not require as much energy, called Proof-of-stake.

- Proof of stake is not based on the principle of large data halls, and can be scaled up without the energy consumption shining away.

If you as an artist want to launch a relatively climate-smart NFT, you should look for pure Proof of stake block chains, says Erik Agrell.

- It is a rather revolutionary change in technology that would mean that it would in principle consume 99 percent less energy.

They have been working with this for several years, now it seems that this will come sometime during this year, says Gunnar Harrius.