It's important to remember that the direction of the causal link is from the value of each satoshi to the cost of electricity use by miners, not the other way around. People value sats, for whatever their reasons. Because they value sats, the mining costs can be financed. If people had no reason to value sats, there would be no mining. The best way to undermine Bitcoin energy use, would be to talk to your local central bank.
The mining is a kind of ratchet. Not really, but psychologically, which is enough. As speculation goes up, people add more mining equipment, which “props up” the price.
