Blue Threat: Will the EU's Hydrogen Policy Stay Green? - CleanTechnica

The article discusses the European Union's recently adopted Low-Carbon Fuels Delegated Act (DA), which finalizes the regulatory framework for renewable (RFNBO) and low-carbon hydrogen production. While the worst-case regulatory outcomes were avoided, the DA still underestimates the true climate impact of blue hydrogen, primarily due to reliance on outdated methane leakage data and insufficient accounting for midstream emissions such as LNG liquefaction, shipping, and regasification. Additionally, low-carbon electrolysis hydrogen benefits from more lenient rules compared to RFNBO hydrogen, potentially skewing the market and risking the entrenchment of high-emission hydrogen pathways under the "low-carbon" label. Transport & Environment (T&E) recommends that the EU strengthen safeguards by ensuring comprehensive lifecycle greenhouse gas accounting that includes upstream methane leakage and the short-term climate effects of methane. They also urge maintaining regulatory stability to encourage investor confidence and timely Final Investment Decisions for RFNBO projects. Furthermore, T&E emphasizes the importance of