The Guardian. (2021, August 20). Oil firms made ‘false claims’ on blue hydrogen costs, says ex-lobby boss. Retrieved August 21,2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/20/oil-firms-made-false-claims-on-blue-hydrogen-costs-says-ex-lobby-boss

 

Big oil companies have been creating false claims surrounding the cost of producing fossil fuel hydrogen to convince the Treasury to allow them to access billions in taxpayer dollars. Chris Jackson quit as chairman of a leading hydrogen association, because “he could no longer lead an industry association that included oil companies backing blue hydrogen projects, because the schemes were “not sustainable”, and “make no sense at all”.” Additionally, environmental groups are criticizing the government’s strategy for this sector, because they are considering blue and green hydrogen to have equal importance.

 

One key issue with the fact that our government is giving equal weight to blue and green hydrogen, is that green hydrogen has no negative impact on our environment, whereas blue hydrogen is made from natural gas, and the process of creating blue hydrogen has negative impacts on the environment. Both types of hydrogen are more expensive than traditional gas, which is why large oil companies are lying about the cost of production. This is a big issue, because if oil companies are lying to the government about the cost of producing blue hydrogen, they will receive billions in tax payer subsidies, even though they don’t need it. Unfortunately, oil companies taking advantage of tax payers, as well as harming the environment seems to be a recurring theme. It is important that we not only recognize the possible environmental issues posed by oil companies, but also the economic issues.