Posted on June, 16 2003

Brussels, Belgium - The European Commission will today be presenting an industry-led report that asks for a major push in research funding for hydrogen (H2) as a future energy source, as part of a two-day conference entitled “The Hydrogen economy – A bridge to sustainable energy”. NGOs are warning that the use of coal and nuclear energy to make the hydrogen will divert attention and funding from true clean and sustainable energy systems. While NGOs believe that hydrogen has the potential to contribute to a sustainable energy future, this will only be the case if it is produced from renewable sources. Hydrogen is not an inherently clean technology — like electricity, the environmental benefits of H2 depend on its production. If Europe decides to develop hydrogen and fuel cell technology as one means of alleviating environmental problems, such as air pollution and climate change, this has to be done on the basis of renewable sources of energy. Similar initiatives in the US and Australia are presently going in the opposite direction by choosing a clearly non-sustainable path for hydrogen production that relies heavily on coal and nuclear power. The new European report also indicates a transition pathway to a hydrogen-based future that would depend on the use of nuclear and coal power to generate hydrogen. NGOs warn strongly against a renaissance of nuclear and coal on environmental grounds. A major push in this direction will divert attention and funding from the true pillars of a clean energy system — renewable energy, effi-ciency, and conservation — and would thus eliminate the potential environmental benefits hydrogen could provide. Channelling more tax payers’ money into conventional technology that most of Europe’s citizens dislike would also represent a major setback for public confidence in EU energy policy. New public funding for research should instead be spent on harnessing renewable energy sources and improving energy efficiency. In order to limit the climate impact of coal as a future H2 source, the report, written by the European Commission’s so-called High-Level Group, suggests that the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide will be stripped from the coal and stored as waste deep in the underground. There are significant questions about the environmental acceptability, costs, and practicability of CO2 capture and storage technology, which is still only in the initial stages of development. Basing a sustainable energy system on a questionable and unproven technology, while most EU Member States are behind in implementing their renewable energy targets, is a serious mistake. Furthermore, while it is important to develop technological improvements to reduce pollution from transport, this cannot substitute for the deployment of sustainable policies like modal shifts and road pricing to curb land use, gridlock, and rising emissions from transport. Hydrogen alone cannot solve transport’s main problems. At present, hydrogen still faces a number of technological barriers, and NGOs acknowledge and support the research needed to overcome these, if H2 is to play a role in a cleaner future energy system. The present European Commission initiative, however, runs the risk of promoting hydrogen regardless of its sources and the environmental benefit. Environmental groups also note with concern that the process so far lacks transparency and access for civil society. It urgently needs to open up to a public debate on the kind of sustainable energy future Europe’s citizens want for themselves. Otherwise it runs the risk of being hijacked by the vested interests of conventional energy industries that have so far dominated the debate. For further information: Matthias Duwe Climate Action Network Europe+32-486-75 95 25 Mahi Sideridou Greenpeace +32-2-502 99 09 Beatrice Schell Transport & Environment +32-496-12 20 94 Stephan Singer WWF +32-496-55 07 09