Predicting Potential Challenges of Regional Hydrogen Cooperation Through a Case Study of the European Union

Abstract

Climate disasters will become more common if carbon emissions continue unabated. In response, the United Nations (UN) has called for countries to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. For many countries, adopting hydrogen energy through imports and regional cooperation is critical to achieving this goal. This study will look at the potential benefits and challenges of regional hydrogen cooperation through a case study of regional hydrogen cooperation in the European Union (EU). The main argument is that the challenges confronting the EU are likely to be encountered elsewhere. The EU provides a particularly favourable environment for regional cooperation. If these challenges were encountered in a favourable environment, they would likely be encountered in less favourable regions as well. The main implication is that other regional cooperations will likely face challenges such as domestic opposition, weak international cooperation in hydrogen R&D, overly lenient carbon emissions accounting, and exacerbated regional inequality.