Problematising the green transition of Europe:A poststructuralist policy analysis on the emerging multi-levelled system of European green hydrogen governance
Translated title
Problematising the green transition of Europe
Author
Villadsen, Rasmus Birkbak
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2021
Submitted on
2021-05-28
Pages
61
Abstract
Klimapolitik fylder i dag i europæisk politik. Den Europæiske Grønne Pagt fra 2019 forpligter EU til klimaneutralitet i 2050, og industristrategien fra 2020 gjorde dette mål, sammen med Europas digitale omstilling, til et styrende princip for politikudvikling. Grøn brint—brint produceret med vedvarende energi—spiller en vigtig rolle i denne dagsorden. Fordi den kan fremstilles uden CO2-udledning, ses den som en løsning til at forsyne fly, skibe og lastbiler med brændstof, lagre elektricitet og producere mere bæredygtigt stål. Europæisk politik foregår ofte i et system kaldet flerniveaustyring (multi-level governance), hvor myndighed og ansvar deles mellem EU-niveauet, nationale og regionale niveauer og involverer aktører fra det offentlige, erhvervslivet og civilsamfundet. Politikker for den langsigtede udvikling af grøn brint formes inden for dette system. Dette speciale analyserer tre policydokumenter på tværs af niveauer: fra EU, Tyskland og regionen Nordtyskland. De beskriver planer for at udvikle brintteknologier, etablere rørlednings- og elektrolyse-infrastruktur og iværksætte en bred vifte af initiativer, der kan øge efterspørgslen efter grøn brint. Analysen anvender WPR-tilgangen (What’s the problem represented to be), som ser politik som noget, der medskaber selve problemforståelsen, fremfor blot at løse et på forhånd givet problem. Ud fra dette perspektiv undersøger specialet, hvordan politikkerne indrammer problemer, og hvor der er plads til at udfordre disse indramninger med henblik på at forbedre politikkerne. Studiet finder en gennemgående problemrepræsentation af, at høje aktuelle omkostninger og manglende positive finansielle incitamenter gør grøn brint økonomisk uholdbar. Det peger også på, at fokus på omkostninger og investeringer begrænser politikernes brug af bredere markedsudviklende tiltag. Specialet argumenterer for at åbne denne indramning ved at løfte omkostningsbegrebet fra et kortsigtet, virksomhedsfokuseret perspektiv til en mere pluralistisk, langsigtet forståelse, der indtænker konsekvenserne af utilstrækkelig eller forsinket klimaindsats.
Climate policy is now central to EU politics. The European Green Deal (2019) commits the EU to climate neutrality by 2050, and the 2020 industrial strategy made this goal, alongside Europe’s digital transformation, a guiding principle for policymaking. Green hydrogen—hydrogen produced using renewable energy—plays a key role in this agenda. Because it can be made without emitting carbon, it is seen as a solution for fuelling planes, ships and trucks, storing electricity, and producing more sustainable steel. Policy in Europe operates in a system often described as multi-level governance, where authority is shared among EU, national and regional levels and involves actors from government, business and civil society. Policies for the long-term development of green hydrogen are shaped within this system. This thesis examines three policy documents across these levels: from the European Union, Germany, and the Northern Germany region. They set out plans to develop hydrogen technologies, build pipeline and electrolyser infrastructure, and use a range of initiatives to stimulate demand for green hydrogen. The analysis uses the WPR approach (What’s the problem represented to be), which treats policy as something that helps define what the problem is, rather than simply solving a fixed, external problem. From this perspective, the thesis explores how the policies frame problems and where there is room to contest these framings in order to improve the policies. The study finds a pervasive framing that high current costs and weak positive financial incentives make green hydrogen economically unviable. It also finds that focusing on cost and investment narrows the policies’ use of broader market-shaping measures. The thesis argues for opening up this framing by moving from a short-term, firm-centred view of costs to a more plural, long-term understanding that takes into account the consequences of inadequate or delayed climate action.
[This summary has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
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