Decarbonisation Pressures versus Local Revenue Security in Fossil Belts
The divergence between upstream decarbonisation mandates and regional economic realities illustrates the central friction within state-led energy transformations. While national strategies prioritize clean hydrogen export potential and electrolyser manufacturing incentives [1], legacy coal states continue to bear profound fiscal and structural reliance on conventional power generation [3]. Scholarly positions frequently emphasize that industrial mission incentives accelerate macroeconomic growth and foreign exchange competitiveness; however, these mechanisms predominantly concentrate capital in coastal or renewable-resource-dense areas rather than in transition-vulnerable mining districts [2, 3]. Consequently, regional governments in fossil corridors experience contracting royalty revenues and localized employment contraction without receiving equivalent compensatory investment flows from the emerging hydrogen economy [1, 2]. Existing transition frameworks frequently fail to bridge this spatial asymmetry, treating hydrogen deployment as a purely technical-industrial project rather than a vehicle for restorative regional development [3]. Addressing this gap requires institutional mechanisms that mandate local content procurement, regional skill repurposing, and dedicated public-private equity funds in historical extractive hubs [1]. Without comprehensive policy harmonization that embeds distributive equity directly into national mission frameworks, the transition process risks deepening geographical inequality while compromising long-term social consensus [2, 3].