Ethereum’s Merge: A Comprehensive Analysis of Per-Block Energy Consumption, Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Block Size

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative analysis of Ethereum’s pre- and post-Merge performance, focusing upon energy consumption, GHG emissions, and scalability due to increase in block size. These findings contribute to understand the potential to change in consensus mechanism of blockchain technology for future years aligning with global sustainable development goals. This research analyses per-block energy consumption, size and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) before and after the Ethereum’s Merge event (September 2022). During the Proof of Work (PoW) age (2015-2022), Ethereum’s energy consumption surged from 0.01 TWh to 17.4 TWh, highlighting the environmental impact that inspired the transition. The transition from PoW to Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism noted the energy reduction of over 99.9%, with the energy consumption of 13.98 GWh and carbon dioxide emissions at 1.7 kilotons in 2024, estimated by Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI). Post-Merge block size analysis reveals a significant change in the block size over the period of years with cumulatively average block size expansion of 16,000% from 2015 to 2024.