The green hydrogen-water-food-nexus: A sustainability analysis for Kazakhstan (II/VI)

The sustainability analysis in this research paper builds upon selected international environmental law and policy's key principles and agreements relevant to Kazakhstan. Furthermore, the study uses the author's two qualitative concepts to present new policies for future sustainable green H2 hubs. First, the study considers key principles, such as sustainable development, state sovereignty, the right to development, the duty to cooperate, and the obligation not to cause environmental harm. For example, sustainable development represents an integrated approach considering environmental concerns and economic development. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs") have specific targets to be achieved by 2030 (UN, 2024). State sovereignty in the environmental context is connected to a state's independence in its economic development, and decisions linked to its environment are void from external interference.  The right to development represents a "manifestation of the developing countries' aspirations for achieving greater economic independence and forming a more equitable economic order" (Hunter et al., 2022, p. 425). The duty to cooperate, at the heart of the UN charter, represents one of the primary normative pillars of international law (Wouters, 2013a). Finally, the obligation not to cause environmental harm was elaborated as Principle 21 of the 1972 Stockholm Declaration (Hunter et al., 2022):

States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental policies, and the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.

Second, the study's methodology is informed by the author's concepts of the quasi-revolutionary transition for developing US coastal green H2 hubs (Anderson, 2022) and nexus-integrated policies for Japan (Anderson, 2023). For instance, the quasi-revolutionary transition is the author’s transition governance model for developing US coastal green H2 hubs (Anderson, 2022). The transition governance model, initially developed by the Dutch Research Institute of Transitions (DRIFT), is "radical in the long-term, diplomatic in the short-term" (Loorbach, 2022, p. 2). Anderson's (2022) concept is based on the DRIFT's model, augmented by the inclusion of van den Bergh's evolutionary-technical perspective on sustainable development (Zachary, 2014), Sheer's "Energy Imperative" (2012), and the author's additional recommendations. The modified DRIFT’s pillars inform the vision and recommendations for developing US coastal green H2 hubs: 1) systemic (engage with emerging dynamics across societal levels), 2) back-casting (focus on the desired transition as a starting point), 3) selective (work with transformative agencies already engaging with the transition), 4) adaptive (experiment with multiple goals and transition pathways), and 5) learning-by-doing and doing-by-learning.

Furthermore, nexus-integrated policies for Japan are cross-sectoral policies for improving Japanese environmental and energy situations. Figure 7 (Appendix) describes the summary of these policy outcomes. This concept is based upon the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) (Hoff, 2011) nexus framework (water, food, and energy security) along with the author's proposed sectoral actions for energy and environmental resilience and reliability, as well as for environmental security. The policies are based on the SEI's framework pillars: 1) economy (creating more with less), 2) environment (investing in sustaining ecosystem services), and 3) society (acceleration of integration and better access of the poorest). The framework accounts for population growth, climate change, and urbanization as pressures on ecosystems and limited resources. Finance, innovation, and governance are vital for implementing these nexus-integrated policies (Hoff, 2011). Moreover, the nexus-integrated policies (Anderson, 2023) propose additional policy recommendations: 1) appreciation that the most feasible options to reinforce energy situations require longer timeframes and may not be similar actions to solve environmental challenges, 2) choosing cleaner energy options for the energy transition by assessing their lifecycle emissions and supply chains, 3) devising a multi-dimensional circular economy  (Sullivan, 2022), and 4) ensuring the just and orderly energy transition, while accounting for various net externalities and tradeoffs. The following section describes the clean H2 development in Kazakhstan.