Call to join the Green Hydrogen Standard Technical Committee
The Green Hydrogen Organisation (GH2) invites stakeholders to join the Green Hydrogen Standard Technical Committee. The Committee will advise the GH2 Board on the adoption of the GH2 Green Hydrogen Standard, to be launched at the Green Hydrogen Global Summit and Assembly, 17-18 May 2022 at the Barcelona International Convention Centre. Draft terms of reference for the Technical Committee are attached (here).
Green hydrogen has a critical role in future societies and in decarbonisation of the global economy. There has to be a global minimum standard for what is green (renewable) hydrogen. Help us creating that standard. Interested stakeholders from government, industry and civil society stakeholders are invited to send nominations by 21 December 2021 to GH2’s Director Sam Bartlett: sam.bartlett@gh2.org; Phone +47 9026 7530. Please explain with no more than one hundred words why you or the person you are nominating is well placed to be serving on this Committee. All stakeholders that express an interest will be contacted.
Background
The Green Hydrogen Organisation (GH2) was launched in September 2021. It is chaired by Malcolm Turnbull. GH2 is a Swiss non-profit foundation and receives generous support from Fortescue Future Industries whose founder Andrew Forrest serves on GH2’s board. GH2’s team is led by CEO Jonas Moberg.
On 4 November, GH2 announced the development of the GH2 Green Hydrogen Standard. GH2 is calling on governments, industry, the financial community, and civil society organizations to support a global effort to establish clear standards and accreditation for green hydrogen. There has been considerable success in building awareness about the role of hydrogen in meeting our energy transition and climate change goals. However, the outlook for green hydrogen based on renewable energy is fundamentally different to hydrogen based on fossil fuels, including expensive and largely unproven carbon capture and storage (CCS). The GH2 rejects the use of the term ‘clean hydrogen’ to conflate the outlook for green hydrogen based on renewable energy and hydrogen based on expanding the use of fossil-fuels and will establish a global standard that focuses exclusively on green hydrogen.
The GH2 Green Hydrogen Standard comprises three pillars:
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Rigorous accounting of greenhouse gas emissions – guaranteeing close to zero emissions. The GH2 Standard addresses total greenhouse gas emissions, guaranteeing that green hydrogen is based on renewable sources with close to zero emissions. The GH2 Standard is rigorous, yet practical, with carbon accounting procedures and thresholds that can be applied consistently to grid and off grid production.
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Environmental, social and governance performance. The GH2 Standard tracks the overall social, environmental and governance impact of GH2 certified hydrogen.
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The development impact. Green hydrogen development can provide developing countries with zero-carbon energy to support energy sector development, increase energy security and create export opportunities. The GH2 Standard requires that the development impact of any GH2 Standard certified green hydrogen is assessed based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Further information on the GH2 Green Hydrogen Standard is available here.
On 1-2 December 2021, GH2 hosted an expert roundtable on the development of the Green Hydrogen Standard. GH2 is now calling on interested stakeholders to join the Green Hydrogen Standard Technical Committee. The Board will decide on the composition of the Committee. It will strive to ensure that a wide group of stakeholders are represented.
The GH2 Board is committed to agreeing the Standard by April 2022. It is anticipated that the Technical Committee will meet virtually 5-10 times between December 2021 and April 2022 and hopefully once in person in Geneva in February (GH2 will cover the costs). The aim is that the Technical Committee makes a single recommendation to Board on the Green Hydrogen Standard. The Standard will be launched at the Green Hydrogen Global Summit and Assembly, 17-18 May 2022.
For additional information, contact GH2’s Director Sam Bartlett: sam.bartlett@gh2.org; Phone +47 9026 7530.