THE green credentials of fuel cells could disappear if the wrong fuel is used to generate the hydrogen, according to a new report called Climate-Friendly Hydrogen Fuel. It claims that generating the hydrogen that fuel cells use could damage the earth's climate as much as burning fuel in today's cars.

'The fuel cell is remarkable technology that has the potential to replace the internal combustion engine as a clean and economic source of power,' said David Hocking, communications director for the David Suzuki Foundation, which compiled the report alongside the Pembina Institute for Appropriate Development. 'But if we make hydrogen from the wrong fuel source, such as petrol, we will have squandered a crucial opportunity to address global warming and air pollution.' (August 2000)