Hydrogen An Absolute Critical Accelerant In The Transition To A Very Different Energy World

Renowned environmentalist Sir Jonathon Porritt CBE, who will give the opening remarks at next week’s H2 2 ZERO Summit in Wellington, says the Summit marks a really significant moment in terms of the development of Hydrogen thinking and practice in New Zealand.

“I actually believe that we can now, without any ambiguity, think about green hydrogen as an absolutely critical accelerant of the transition that we need to a very different energy world in the future,” Sir Jonathon says.

Sir Jonathon, who was speaking via video link from the UK, says he spent three months in New Zealand earlier in the year, which allowed him to gain a very clear sense of the way the whole debate about hydrogen is beginning to move forward. “It is good to see the development of New Zealand’s Hydrogen Roadmap and a Regional Hydrogen Strategy, both of which are critical.”

Sir Jonathon says that in his opening remarks to the summit he will talk about the context in which the Summit is being held.

“I think that climate scientists and everybody will look back on the first six months of 2023 and will recognise that this is already an extraordinary time in the way our understanding of climate science has changed, and what it tells us about the future.

“For climate scientists it's been a pretty astonishing time, and although they point out that much of what is happening is still within the bounds of the way they thought about this unraveling climate story, nonetheless there is a sense that we're now heading more and more often into what they describe often as uncharted territory.

“This uncharted territory is really the zone that we have to focus on, because it's in that territory that some of the most extreme climate anomalies are now beginning to become more visible and more impactful in terms of human societies around the world.

‘Some of the critical physical tipping points around marine heat waves and disappearing sea ice are matters of very considerable significance to New Zealanders. We know we're at a tipping point in terms of our realisation about how fast things are moving in the natural world. The question for all of us is are things moving at an equivalent speed in society?

“Now is the time where we really have to up our game pretty dramatically in order to match the speed with which things are changing in the natural world.

“This Summit absolutely has to keep the time frame that really matters in mind. It is enormously exciting there is a credible focus now on the potential for hydrogen in so many ways to support the transition to a very different global energy system.

“It is also very heartening to see that New Zealand now is absolutely clear about the priority for green hydrogen. The various uses to which hydrogen can be put are a considerable strategic significance to the New Zealand economy.

Sir Jonathon praises New Zealand’s ability to embrace public private partnerships. “This Summit is in a way a celebration of bringing all of the players into frame, both national and regional government and the many private sector interests. This is really important.”

“The Summit is a very timely opportunity to make a lot more progress, which will be fantastic not just for all New Zealand citizens, but also setting the example for many people around the world.”

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