Green hydrogen is sustainable hydrogen (and why the Green Hydrogen Standard has requirements beyond maximum emissions)

Green hydrogen is so much more than a zero-carbon energy solution. Green hydrogen can help us achieve equitable energy access, economic development and food security around the world.

Understandably there is a huge focus on green hydrogen as a way to decarbonise key parts of our economy. Hydrogen certification schemes therefore tend to emphasise the carbon intensity of the production process. This is evident in subsidy schemes such as that of the Inflation Reduction Act in the US and in the case of the EU’s Delegated Act on Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin, where it is all about the CO2 emissions.

However, green hydrogen can and must be much more than a clean energy carrier and ally in reaching our climate targets.

If developed well, the green hydrogen economy can offer a positive sustainability impact on the lives of people living along the green hydrogen supply chain. The Africa Green Hydrogen Alliance, an initiative which we provide the secretariat to, published a report just last week noting that GDP in six key African countries could rise by 12% if adequate investment is made.

This is why we place such a premium on sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria in the Green Hydrogen Standard.

Others say there are already plenty of standards and codes dealing with sustainability and ESG. For sure the Green Hydrogen Standard does not aim to re-invent the wheel on sustainability. Indeed, there are decades of experience that we’ve drawn upon in the Green Hydrogen Standard such as the IFC’s Performance Standards and the Hydropower Sustainability Standard.

The green hydrogen economy will be so large that issues such as community consultation; working conditions; water use; social and environmental impact; health and safety; and transparency and accountability need to be integral to any certification system for green hydrogen. It can’t be about emissions alone.

Indeed the clean hydrogen provisions in the US IRA have recognised the importance of local economic benefits accompanying green hydrogen production: the best tax credits under the IRA will only be achieved if workers are paid a reasonable wage to produce low carbon hydrogen.

The green hydrogen economy is at such an early stage that there is little experience of applying sustainability criteria and measuring impacts on green hydrogen production. From the start, we need to learn by doing with sustainability at the centre.

We have a good idea of what works and what doesn’t: look at all the sustainability and good governance work that has gone into trying to reverse the ‘resource curse’ in the fossil fuel and mining sectors, not least ensuring that civil society and local communities feel their voices are being heard.

This is also why we put sustainability at the centre of our work on good green hydrogen contracting which includes topics such as community engagement, fiscal terms, pricing, land and infrastructure access. These topics are all aimed at ensuring that green hydrogen projects are stable, that green hydrogen contracts can stand the test of time and that there is a reasonable share of benefits divided between investors, governments and the wider population.

Many of these issues are highlighted in a new report by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and Bread for the World following consultations in seven African and Latin American countries. The report puts forward a number of recommendations on how to shape the emerging green hydrogen sector based on human-rights, equity, justice, and environmentally sound trade.

Putting it another way, if we don’t get the sustainability aspects right at the start we are doomed to fail. It won’t take much for local grievances on land access or water availability to derail a green hydrogen project. If the financial benefits of green hydrogen export are concentrated in the hands of a few individuals, leaving the rest of the population with little sense of the revenues received or indeed access to renewable electricity and green hydrogen domestically then we will also have a problem.

Our contributions at the recent COP27 conference in Egypt, where the role of green hydrogen in low- and middle-income countries was highlighted, all focused on how green hydrogen can be a force for good not just in addressing climate change but also in furthering the economic and development aspirations of people around the world.