James Prest - Legal and Policy Issues raised by National Hydrogen Strategies in Australia and Europe

Senior Lecturer James Prest from the Australian National University, a specialist in Energy and Environmental Law, was invited by our Research Group to present his thoughts on the Australian hydrogen strategy on 25 March 2021. This presentation is based on his recent article: J. Prest; J. Woodyatt; J.P.J. Pettit; "Comparing the Hydrogen Strategies of the EU, Germany, and Australia: Legal and Policy Issues" OGEL 2 (2021).

In his presentation, James provided our group with a thorough overview of the trends and challenges in the Australian energy sector, highlighting that despite the relatively vague renewable energy regulatory framework much has happened in the last decade.

In addition, he discussed extensively the content of the Australian hydrogen strategy, its positive and negative aspects as well as both technical and legal challenges to be overcome if the strategy is to be successful. The Australian efforts were put in perspective through a comparison with the EU, German, French and Spanish equivalents, showing how Europe seems to be (quite) ahead of the Australian practices in terms of targets and ambitions, financial support and legislation.

It was a pleasure hosting James and hearing from these Australian developments and we look forward to having him again with us in the future to exchange views regarding renewable energy regulation.

You can follow James' work on his Twitter account: @Jimprest