Question

Can green hydrogen play a significant role in stopping or at least slowing down global warming?  global warming (also called climate change); pollution and its role in pushing investment in renewable energy; the amount of money likely to be in play; government regulations—national, state/regional, or municipal--and subsidies which may favor (or disadvantage) investment in renewable energy; the potential in particular countries, including developing countries, for investment in green hydrogen; comparative costs of renewable and fossil fuel technologies; the element of belief, sometimes called dreams, in major investment shifts, e.g., whether the green hydrogen story is part of the dream of the circular economy; the impact of the covid 19 pandemic; and the potential role of millions of electric car owners as a lobbying force to shift the world into a re-thinking of energy and pollution—including shifting into the use of green hydrogen

Answer 1

If renewable energy (e.g. from Solar panels) is used to generate electricity for electrolysis of water then the green hydrogen can be generated without any harmful emissions.

Our ability to produce large quantities of green hydrogen will play a major role in providing an alternative to fossil fuels as we transition to low emissions and work towards a clean, healthy environment. With electric cars becoming more and more popular, we need to rethink our strategy for electricity generation if we are going to support the increased amount of EV drivers that will be on the road needing to charge their electric cars. Through the use of green hydrogen, we can foresee a sustainable future in handling this increased demand

Human activity is overloading our atmosphere with carbon dioxide and other global warming emissions. These gases act like a blanket, trapping heat. The result is a web of significant and harmful impacts, from stronger, more frequent storms, to drought, sea level rise, and extinction. In contrast, most renewable energy sources produce little to no global warming emissions.

Mobilising investment and innovation in low-carbon technologies, especially in renewable energy generation, is central to keeping the global average surface temperature increase well below 2°C. Successfully attracting investment and innovation in renewable energy requires not only core climate policies, such as pricing carbon, but also a focus on the broader investment environment.

The comparison becomes clear when you look at the numbers. Burning natural gas for electricity releases between 0.6 and 2 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour (CO2E/kWh); coal emits between 1.4 and 3.6 pounds of CO2E/kWh. Wind, on the other hand, is responsible for only 0.02 to 0.04 pounds of CO2E/kWh on a life-cycle basis; solar 0.07 to 0.2; geothermal 0.1 to 0.2; and hydroelectric between 0.1 and 0.5.

Most of these negative health impacts come from air and water pollution that clean energy technologies simply don’t produce. Wind, solar, and hydroelectric systems generate electricity with no associated air pollution emissions. Geothermal and biomass systems emit some air pollutants, though total air emissions are generally much lower than those of coal- and natural gas-fired power plants.