(June 18, 2019) Hyundai Motor Group’s Executive Vice Chairman Euisun Chung called for immediate action to ensure a "sustainable earth" in his address to G20 energy Ministers in Karuizawa, Japan.

In his capacity as the Hydrogen Council Co-Chair, Chung addressed global policymakers at the official luncheon of the "G20 Ministerial Meeting on Energy Transitions and Global Environment for Sustainable Growth." Chung stressed that words and study results alone are not enough to make progress in the transition to clean energy. 

Chung shared his belief that a hydrogen-powered society was “the most viable solution” to a successful energy transition. Emphasizing that by 2050, hydrogen could account for almost one-fifth of total energy consumed, he urged leaders from all sectors, beyond energy and transport, to join the Hydrogen Council in demonstrating the potential of hydrogen for tackling global energy needs.

He made it clear that hydrogen can help governments to deliver significant benefits for their citizens, energy security, environment, and economy. Citing the Hydrogen Council report, "Hydrogen, Scaling up," Chung said that when deployed at scale, hydrogen would reduce annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by roughly six gigatons versus today’s levels.



On the potential economic contribution that hydrogen could make, he added that hydrogen could create a $2.5 trillion market, as well as provide employment for more than 30 million people.

Chung’s speech was followed by remarks from other Hydrogen Council members: Takeshi Uchiyamada, Chairman of Toyota and Benoît Potier, Chairman and CEO of Air Liquide also representing the Hydrogen Council as co-chair.

Uchiyamada highlighted how the Hydrogen Council is working on more than 20 large-scale, multi-billion-dollar projects to bring hydrogen to the mass market. Mr. Potier called on G20 governments to work together to embed hydrogen in their energy transition strategies, policies and regulations.

At an exclusive investor event held on the same day ahead of the G20 Ministerial meeting, Chung also referenced the value of strong collaboration among key stakeholders. In a welcome address he encouraged business, investors and governments to start discussions on how to create the right environment and make available the right tools to drive this change. During this invitation-only event, Hydrogen Council members presented a selection of concrete, multi-billion projects currently being developed by the industry.

Launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2017, the Hydrogen Council is a first-of-its-kind global CEO initiative to foster the role of hydrogen technologies in the global energy transition. The coalition of 60 members from across industry sectors and key markets collectively represents total revenues of more than GBP 2.6 trillion and close to 4.2 million jobs around the world.

The Hydrogen Council helps to facilitate collaboration between key stakeholders, hosts events geared toward international advocacy, and educates the public about the pragmatism of hydrogen. To date, the Council has published three studies exploring the role of hydrogen in the energy transition that detailed the comprehensive vision of the long-term potential of hydrogen and a roadmap for deployment.