Evaluating Multilateral Development Banks’ Environmental and Social Policies for Green Hydrogen Projects: A Content Analysis

Multilateral development banks (MDBs) have become major financiers of green hydrogen production in emerging markets and developing countries. To manage project risks, MDBs apply environmental and social policies into their due diligence mechanism. This research evaluates the effectiveness of MDBs’ environmental and social policies in mitigating the risks of green hydrogen production. It adopts content analysis to quantitatively analyze seven green hydrogen projects funded by MDBs, selected based on the availability of publicly accessible information. It classifies all environmental and social risks due to green hydrogen projects into 20 risk areas and categorizes MDBs’ policies into four types, including measurement-based, minimization-based, mitigation-based, and condition-based. The findings show that while MDBs have established comprehensive policy frameworks, several important risk areas are insufficiently addressed. This study highlights the inadequacies of MDBs’ environmental and social policies and proposes suggestions to support more sustainable green hydrogen development.