The European Hydrogen Economy: A Carrier for the Green and Just Transition?
Authors:
Yannick van den Berg (UvA), Aleksa Radonjić (UvA)
Abstract:
This case study investigates the social impacts of the EU green hydrogen economy. It takes an energy justice perspective to enrich social impact analysis of hydrogen economies in two particular localities: Groningen in the north of the Netherlands and the Western Sahara a region recognized in international law as a non-self-governing territory, to which Morocco has territorial pretensions. Social impact assessments on (renewable) energy projects and systems, such as the EU-endorsed SLC-A, currently do not (sufficiently) assess the justice of green transitions (Fortier et al., 2019). This study builds on energy justice approaches to integrate additional indicators towards understanding the social impacts of green hydrogen and applies the resulting assessment framework to green hydrogen projects in Groningen and Western Sahara. This study shows how the introduction of green technologies and energy systems risks exacerbating distributional, procedural and recognition injustices where these concerns are not properly addressed in EU and national law and policy frameworks.
