Louis Siouw

Phasing out Fossil Fuels with Hydrogen Fuel: Energy Transition in the Netherlands

The 2015 Paris Agreement stressed the need to strengthen the global response to climate change by working together to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, enhance resilience and build a more sustainable future. As such, the agreement emphasised the importance of limiting global average temperature rise to below 2°c, and below 1.5°c where possible. But fast forward 6 years to COP26 and the pace of climate change has accelerated the urgency of the action required. This particular agreement called on member countries to improve their climate plans by phasing out fossil fuels and to aim for a net-zero economy by mid-century. The idea of phasing out of fossil fuels demands a widespread restructuring of society and the wider economy as the incumbent regime relies heavily on fossil fuel assets to function. This means that a transition away from the current economy is required. Such a transition can generate many outcomes as countries can follow numerous development pathways to achieve their national, and global, climate goals. This study builds upon this debate and explores the transition towards a hydrogen economy in the Netherlands. Supported by Geels’ (2018) socio-technical transition theory, the methodology used involves a content analysis of policy documents and reports and a framing analysis of newspaper articles. In total, 4 policy documents and reports and 48 newspaper articles were analysed: findings show that a hydrogen economy does have the potential to phase out fossil fuels in the Netherlands, as hydrogen fuel can be appropriately applied within various sectors which reduces fossil fuel dependence and the need to extract them, thus leaving them underground. The analysis also recognises that for this to be successful, the entire hydrogen supply chain must be effectively scaled up in order to reduce the drawbacks that are currently associated with the production and use of hydrogen fuel. The research project concludes by providing the grounds for a number of other possible directions for future enquiry within the climate change agenda.

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