Equity Guardrails for an Emerging California Hydrogen Market
Implementing a full-fledged hydrogen system in California will take considerable investments that could fall back on ratepayers, perpetuate pollution in environmental justice communities, and coopt necessary energy and water resources from Californians. These are top-of-mind concerns for communities who have experienced these impacts before and are calling for the state not to repeat the energy system’s history of profit over people and planet. Hydrogen should only be produced and deployed where it is an affordable climate solution with environmental and equity guardrails that ensure the financial and emissions burden does not land on those who can least afford it. Join our session to hear from environmental justice, equity, and community-based organizations about the impacts and guardrails needed for the emerging hydrogen industry in California. It is time for communities to lead the way on hydrogen for California’s just transition to clean energy.
- Nile Malloy | Climate Justice Director, California Environmental Justice Alliance
- Jay Parepally | Federal Climate Justice Legal Fellow, Communities for a Better Environment
- Michael Rincon | Research and Policy Manager, Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles
- Moderator: Fatima Abdul-Khabir | Senior Program Manager of Energy Equity, The Greenlining Institute