Problem is, burning methane releases CO2, unlike hydrogen.
So it’s CO2 neural
Meaning you would have to make sure all companies from all the countries in the world won't try to make money by using a cheaper and easier to access source of methane once there is a huge market for it.
Unlikely.
I mean, of course you have to track where the methane came from but that’s pretty easy.
There are also ways ways to make hydrogen that emit lots of co2. So either way you have to track and tax.
And again, you need all the countries in the world to behave. The USA, China, India, Russia...
Carbon taxes work extremely well, btw, but i agree they have to be combined with an equivalent carbon import duty.
China, Russia and India exchange massively between them, with Europe, Africa, and internally. Those product would be cheaper, since no carbon tax, so no incentive.
It's a hard problem to solve.
If we get a big hydrogen market, the problem never needs to be solved.
Plus, Europe has a carbon tax already, so there is already a chance to set up a transatlantic cooperation.
And it won't affect exchanges of goods between Asia, Russia, South America and Africa, or internally in each country lika China or India. Internally use goods will not be taxed, and be cheap, so they will import less, use more internal good, and pollute more.
And you force China, Russia and India into that big hydrogen market how exactly? I like hydrogen, but your argument is incoherent.
It's a chicken an egg problem.
We are using methane to produce h2 because synthesizing fuel (any fuel) is incredibly energetically inefficient. Otherwise we would be using electrolysis for h2.
Either you decide it's a problem, and you don't synthesize any fuel, or you will, and you'll oversize the energy grid and improve the synthesis process efficiency.
This thread assumes we decided we should synthesize fuel (I'm not sold, but I'm debating in that context).
If we do, then synthesis will never beat sourcing in efficiency for methane, since it's a direct process. But if there is a huge market for h2, there will be a incentive for over-sizing the grid and improving on electrolysis to the point that it can be competitive against sourcing methane + synthesize from that, which are 2 steps instead of one.
However, there is no way we can find a way to compete against sourcing methane (and no more step) alone. No good incentive to create.
Most hydrogen is currently synthesized from steam reforming of methane [1], not electrolysis.
[1] https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/hydrogen-production-na...