Controlling Emissions in a European hydrogen economy: Report Launch and Discussion

Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024, 10:00-11:00 (CET) via Zoom

Increasingly, hydrogen is being seen as an important energy carrier that can help the world reach a net-zero future. But hydrogen itself is an indirect greenhouse gas, and emissions along the hydrogen value chain – including those of methane and CO₂ if blue hydrogen is part of the mix – threaten to undermine hydrogen’s promise as a low-carbon fuel. 

In this online event, the authors will present the recently-published RIFS Study Controlling Emissions in Germany's Future Hydrogen Economy: Entry-Points for Policy Action and the companion RIFS Policy Brief Controlling Emissions in a European Hydrogen Economy. In the study, the warming potential of hydrogen, methane, and CO₂ emissions is evaluated for a German hydrogen economy in 2045, based on scenarios developed from official strategies and targets. Based on these calculations, the authors make policy recommendations to minimize emissions along the hydrogen value chain and ensure that the potential of hydrogen as a low-carbon energy carrier is realized.

Agenda

• Welcome by Prof. Dr. Mark Lawrence, Director, RIFS Potsdam & & Helen Spence-Jackson, EDF’s Executive Director for Europe
• Presentation of RIFS Study and Policy Brief by lead authors Dr. Kathleen A. Mar and Prof. Dr. Rainer Quitzow

• Responses by discussants:

  • Dr. Christine Falken-Großer, German Federal Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection (BMWK)
  • Ricarda Dubbert, Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH)
  • Robert Spanheimer, Bundesverband der Energie- und Wasserwirtschaft e.V (BDEW)
  • European Commission DG Energy – tbd

• Q&A with webinar participants

Moderation: Prof. Dr. Andreas Goldthau, Universität Erfurt & RIFS Potsdam

Publications

• Mar, K. A., Quitzow, R., Haberkost, F., Horn, M. C., Lentschig, H., Unger, C., & Goldthau, A. (2024). Controlling Emissions in Germany's Future Hydrogen Economy: Entry-Points for Policy Action. RIFS Study, October 2024. https://doi.org/10.48481/rifs.2024.016
• Mar, K. A., Quitzow, R. (2024): Controlling Emissions in a European Hydrogen Economy. - RIFS Policy Brief, 2024, 2.
  https://doi.org/10.48481/rifs.2024.017
   

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