Hydrogen from South to North and the equitability of hydrogen partnerships – an analysis of the German-Chilean energy partnership
2023 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE credits
Student thesis
Abstract [en]
Hydrogen is seen as a key resource to succeed in the transition towards renewable energies and a fossil-free future. Germany is no exception here as the fuel is a constitutive part of the country’s future energy supply. Hydrogen is so crucial for many countries as it can act as feedstock, fuel or energy carrier with enormous decarbonization potential. However, Germany will not be able to meet its hydrogen needs self-sufficiently. Partnerships with countries, particularly in the Global South, are required to meet the import needs, and one partner country is Chile. The collaboration is positioned as an enabler of just transition and climate neutrality. However, questions about the social and environmental impacts centring around neglect of water and energy needs and justice issues remain. A main risk of partnerships between the Global South and Global North is that they can become one-sided, leaving the southern country with extractive hydrogen activities and the northern country with cheap hydrogen imports. The thesis aims to analyze the Chilean-German energy partnership concerning its hydrogen agreement and collaboration regarding its equitability, to assess hydrogen partnerships between countries Global North and their partners in the Global South. The thesis will thereby answer the research questions if North-South hydrogen collaborations provide energy security in an equitable way, for which the German-Chilean partnership will act as a case. The meet this end, the thesis employs secondary data substantiated by primary data from semi-structured interviews in the Energy-Security-Justice Framework developed by Sovacool and Mukherjee (2011). The thesis shows the ambiguity of the partnership. The collaboration is an excellent example of a well-intended partnership with positive influences regarding energy and procedural and recognition justice, and job creation. The critical sides of the collaboration refer to a one-sided dependency, water and governance issues. The primary concern for the partnership concerns the strategic intentions and their impact on distribution. Thereby the collaboration falls short in representing a fully equitable partnership. Regarding North-South partnerships, it is shown that equitable partnerships are achievable if issues revolving around production and extraction, particularly regarding water, past injustices and participation, are acknowledged. Most importantly, North-South partnerships still pose a risk as they can become one-sided, mainly due to the extractive production in the Southern counterpart.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2023. , p. 90
Series
Examensarbete vid Institutionen för geovetenskaper, ISSN 1650-6553 ; 2023/17
Keywords [en]
Energy Security, Energy Justice, Global South, Hydrogen Partnerships, Sustainable Development, Water
National Category
Earth and Related Environmental Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-503861OAI: oai:DiVA.org:uu-503861DiVA, id: diva2:1764461
Educational program
Master Programme in Sustainable Development
Presentation
2023-05-25, Geocentrum, Villavägen 16, Uppsala, 14:15 (English)
Supervisors
Examiners
2023-06-082023-06-082025-02-07Bibliographically approved