What are green hydrogen and ammonia?
Green hydrogen is made by using renewable energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, while green ammonia is created by combining green hydrogen with nitrogen. Both are important for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and moving towards cleaner energy.

Green hydrogen can store renewable energy and is seen as a key energy carrier. It can be used in industries like heavy manufacturing and long-distance transport. Green ammonia is useful for safely storing hydrogen and is being considered as a safer transport medium for hydrogen and a potential zero-carbon fuel, especially for shipping. However, it needs careful handling to prevent harmful emissions. Both technologies are emerging as crucial components in heavy industry decarbonization (such as green steel and cement) and long-distance energy transport.

However, producing green hydrogen and ammonia has challenges. It requires a lot of water, which can be a problem in areas where water is already scarce. Building the infrastructure, such as wind or solar farms, also uses large amounts of land, which can lead to habitat destruction, deforestation, and harm to wildlife. Storage, transport and distribution of green hydrogen are other challenges. Additionally, wind and solar developments can cause socio-economic issues, such as conflicts over land use, displacement of local communities, and safety risks for workers dealing with hazardous materials.

How can SEA be helpful in green hydrogen and green ammonia projects?
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is important because it helps identify early on the environmental and social risks and potential impacts of implementing policies, plans, and programs (PPPs) concerned with green hydrogen and green ammonia. This helps to ensure that subsequent green hydrogen and green ammonia production projects, and their associated renewable energy projects are developed in a responsible and sustainable way.

SEA looks at environmental impacts like water use, pollution, damage to ecosystems, and loss of habitats and biodiversity. It also considers socio-economic impacts like creating opportunities for or threats to jobs, and effects on working conditions and local communities. By involving local people in policy development and the planning process, SEA helps make sure PPPs and the green hydrogen/ammonia projects that flow from them do the least harm and bring the most benefits, balancing the need for renewable energy with protecting the environment and supporting communities.