The Solana Foundation, the organization behind the popular Solana blockchain, has launched a new dashboard where users can track carbon emissions on Solana in real time.
The dashboard measures the network's carbon footprint by monitoring the carbon emissions of computer servers that power the blockchain.
The foundation has collaborated with the data platform Trycarbonara to release the dashboard.
- The move marked the first attempt from a major smart-contract blockchain to measure the carbon emissions on its network in real time.
- Users can access the dashboard on the Solana Climate website.
- The dashboard displays various indicators, including the total node count, megawatt-hours, and total carbon emissions.
- The dashboard's data can be found in open-source.
- According to the dashboard, Solana's servers emitted 10,651 metric tons of carbon dioxide in the 12 months before April 1, 2023, an amount roughly equivalent to eight flights from London to New York.
- The Solana Foundation said they hope the move paves the way for a trend toward carbon emission transparency in the blockchain ecosystem .
Solana's move came amid increased criticism of the adverse effects of blockchains on the environment.
- In September 2022, the Ethereum blockchain switched to proof-of-stake (PoS) from the proof-of-work (PoW) model with the historical Merge upgrade, reducing the network's energy consumption by 99.95% and, hence, its carbon footprint.
- There are currently two networks still using the PoW model: Bitcoin and Dogecoin.