1. USICA VS. COMPETES

This week, ProPublica and the New Yorker published an exceptional piece of reporting by Alec McGillis on the history of coal production in Germany. McGillis focused on the state’s targeted effort to move away from coal, its social and economic impact on coal communities, and how it compares to the US’ own energy transition.

Here’s our take: whether intentional or not, when the climate community vilifies fossil fuels, fossil fuel workers who rely on coal, oil, and gas production for their livelihood see themselves being condemned. As a result, climate activism has however inadvertently perpetuated an “us vs. them” dichotomy that has made fossil fuel communities feel as if they’ve been pitted against the rest of the world. This has made it more difficult to have productive clean energy conversations within these communities. 

At this point, the market is naturally moving toward cleaner alternatives to coal. These alternatives are more cost-competitive, and they have fewer negative impacts on public health and the environment. But good communication on climate change should take an “all-for-one, one-for-all” approach that gives fossil fuel communities a seat at the table as the country transitions and acknowledges the work they’ve invested in building out our existing energy infrastructure. 

2. CHANGING THE CONVERSATION AROUND COAL

This week, ProPublica and the New Yorker published an exceptional piece of reporting by Alec McGillis on the history of coal production in Germany. McGillis focused on the state’s targeted effort to move away from coal, its social and economic impact on coal communities, and how it compares to the US’ own energy transition.

Here’s our take: whether intentional or not, when the climate community vilifies fossil fuels, fossil fuel workers who rely on coal, oil, and gas production for their livelihood see themselves being condemned. As a result, climate activism has however inadvertently perpetuated an “us vs. them” dichotomy that has made fossil fuel communities feel as if they’ve been pitted against the rest of the world. This has made it more difficult to have productive clean energy conversations within these communities. 

At this point, the market is naturally moving toward cleaner alternatives to coal. These alternatives are more cost-competitive, and they have fewer negative impacts on public health and the environment. But good communication on climate change should take an “all-for-one, one-for-all” approach that gives fossil fuel communities a seat at the table as the country transitions and acknowledges the work they’ve invested in building out our existing energy infrastructure. 

3. H2 ON THE MOVE

There has been a lot of news around hydrogen, both in the US and around the world, in the past few months: New Mexico is considering a bill to expand low-carbon hydrogen production; the Loan Programs Office at the Department of Energy issued its first non-nuclear loan guarantee in six years to a “turquoise” hydrogen plant; Sweden has signed an agreement to launch the world’s first nuclear-powered “pink hydrogen” plant; and Cemex, a leading multinational building materials company is investing in a clean hydrogen startup to develop a low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels that power cement production.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes $9.5 billion for clean hydrogen research, demonstration, and deployment, including the creation of clean hydrogen hubs and funding to bring down the cost of hydrogen electrolyzers and build out a domestic supply chain for hydrogen production.

So why is there so much investment in hydrogen as a climate solution? 

Zero-carbon hydrogen has several uses. In the transportation sector, for example, hydrogen has a vital role to play in decarbonizing medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, with hydrogen fueling helping to power the future of the trucking and shipping industries.

We can also use hydrogen in industrial applications to curb emissions from hard-to-abate sectors like steel production. Sweden’s HYBRIT plant, for instance, uses electrolysis to convert renewable energy into hydrogen, which it then used to power the production of low-carbon steel. This is one example of the industrial use for hydrogen that can help reduce the embodied carbon emissions in construction materials and ensure we’re on track to successfully decarbonize the industry sector.

Above all, hydrogen is becoming a critical alternative to fossil fuels in some of the most challenging industries and sectors to electrify.