There are valid environmental concerns about Meta’s recent inclusion of NFTs in apps like Instagram. Here’s what we know about how Meta plans to address them.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) come with a substantial carbon footprint. And while NFTs are yet another hot new trend that Meta seems eager to jump on, the technology conglomerate has apparently tempered its zeal with valid concerns about sustainability and its recent entrance into the world of digital assets. On Tuesday, Meta issued a statement that offered a closer look at how NFTs will be incorporated into its photo and video sharing platform, Instagram. But amid all of the colorful screenshots of its limited-release NFT sharing feature, Meta did attempt to address the ecological-impact elephant in the room. In the statement, Meta acknowledged that “blockchain technology and NFTs raise important questions on sustainability” and said that it plans to buy renewable energy as a way to “reduce the emissions impact that might be associated with the display of digital collectibles on Instagram.
