Infrastructure Bill Includes up to $8 Billion for “Clean” Tech Worse Than Coal

“Blue Hydrogen” could result in 20 percent more emissions, study finds.

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This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

The large infrastructure bill passed by the US Senate and hailed by Joe Biden as a key tool to tackle the climate crisis includes billions of dollars to support a supposedly clean fuel that is potentially even more polluting than coal, new research has found.

The $1 trillion infrastructure package, which passed with bipartisan support on Tuesday, includes $8 billion to develop “clean hydrogen” via the creation of four new regional hubs. The White House has said the bill advances Biden’s climate agenda and proponents of hydrogen have touted it as a low-emissions alternative to fuel shipping, trucking, aviation and even home heating.

But a new study has found surprisingly large emissions from the production of so-called “blue” hydrogen, a variant being enthusiastically pushed by the fossil fuel industry and probably falling under the definition of clean hydrogen in the Senate bill.

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