Quo vadis, Green Hydrogen? Scenarios for its Production and Use in Peru for a Just Energy Transition

Abstract

This paper examines the incipient progress of green hydrogen production in Peru, within the framework of the energy transition stimulated by decarbonization with a focus on just transition. In addition to offering a technical perspective, it provides a critical perspective that highlights the structural, sociopolitical, and environmental tensions that accompany the advancement of this energy vector. Following an interdisciplinary strategy, the paper discusses the benefits of green hydrogen ?especially its importance in decarbonizing strategic industrial branches? as well as the dangers associated with the perpetuation of extractivist and territorially exclusionary rationalities. The focus of southern Peru as an export center is described, and the limited citizen participation, vague legislation, and the concentrated decision-making power of private and transnational actors are problematized. It is argued that without clear and effective regulatory frameworks, and redistributive mechanisms, and without informed participation of civil society, green hydrogen risks becoming a new form of green extractivism. Thus, alternative development scenarios are outlined. Based on this, a call is made to reimagine the role of the State, civil society, universities, and territories in the path to a socially and environmentally just energy transition, and not just one that serves corporate and geopolitical purposes.