The hydrogen rush; Green business.

"All manner of industries are staking a claim to the gaseous promised land.

"WE ARE BUILDING the energy company of the future;like Tesla did," declares Seifi Ghasemi, chairman of Air Products. Comparing yourself to the electric-car darling may seem Napoleonic for a purveyor of industrial gases. But Mr Ghasemi, who has thought about one gas in particular, hydrogen, for 30 years, insists the comparison is apt.

He is not alone. Hydrogen is expected to play a big role in greening hard-to-decarbonise sectors such as cement and steel, as well as in long-term energy storage. Today's smallish and, because almost all the stuff is made from fossil fuels in a carbon-intensive way, dirtyish hydrogen business is forecast to grow into a much cleaner trillion-dollar industry in a few decades. Governments are spending tens of billions of dollars a year to kickstart a clean-hydrogen revolution. A posse of hydrogen-curious firms are keen for a piece of the action.

Maheep Mandloi of Credit Suisse, a bank, sees the natural-gas industry as a template for the development of hydrogen, which is already used in refining. The rise of liquefied natural gas took the sort of capital and expertise that only the integrated global energy giants had. Small wonder big oil is taking an interest. In September Chevron, an American oil titan, unveiled a $10bn strategy for "new energy" that bets big on low-carbon hydrogen.

The other supermajors--BP, ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell and TotalEnergies--have also announced investments in hydrogen clusters and technologies. Ahmad al-Khowaiter, chief technology officer of Saudi Aramco, says that the state-controlled oil colossus intends to be the world leader in fossil-derived low-carbon hydrogen in the 2030s. The kingdom's hope is also to maintain its energy superpowerdom as oil's prospects fade by exporting hydrogen made using its world-class solar and wind resources.

Aaron Denman of Bain, a consultancy, calls such bets a quest for "growth engine number two" in case the firms' core fossil-fuel business falters. The same rationale may underlie the hydrogen efforts of other sectors with a spotty environmental record. On October 11th Andrew Forrest, a mining tycoon and Australia's richest man, who controls Fortescue Metals Group, unveiled plans to build the world's biggest factory for electrolyser machines, needed to produce green hydrogen from water.

Not all H{-2} prospectors come from grubby industries trying to burnish their image in an ever more climate-conscious world. Given the much wider range of potential applications for hydrogen, various other sectors could strike gaseous gold. Mr Ghasemi, for one, is confident that his company will beat the commodities giants, which he sees as complacent. "They think hydrocarbons are here for ever and don't think anybody can disrupt them."

Air Products is trying to prove them wrong. It is developing several hydrogen megaprojects around the world, including a $5bn initiative to produce renewable hydrogen in Saudi Arabia for export. James West of Evercore, an investment bank, reckons industrial-gas firms could become the first supermajors of the hydrogen era. Big oil won't take that lying down." [1]

Russia has a lot of space to generate wind and solar electricity. Once hydrogen has been extracted by electrolysis, Russia can use its existing pipelines to transport that hydrogen to markets. Russia can store carbon in the cavities of the earth, carbon which is generated by producing hydrogen from fossil gas.

 

·  ·  · 1.  "The hydrogen rush; Green business." The Economist, 23 Oct. 2021, p. 63(US).

 

Pagaliau vyksta atsakas prieš blogą elitą Rytų Europoje

 

    „"KORUPCIJA, AUTOKRATIJA, be stabdžių valdžia-tai buvo pavojus, kurio daugelis tikėjosi, kad Rytų Europa išvengs, kai besikuriančios demokratijos 2000-ųjų pradžioje įstojo į Europos Sąjungą. Vietoj to, visa kita Europa dabar nerimauja, o rytinės šalys tiesiog įsmeigė šias ydas į ES.

 

    Vienas didžiausių pažeidėjų yra Lenkija. Iš pradžių Varšuvos vyriausybė sudėjo į savo konstitucinį teismą ištikimus teisėjus, o paskui įpareigojo juos nuspręsti, kad Lenkijos konstitucija gali panaikinti Europos sutartis-pagrindinio narystės ES principo puolimas. Ilgametis Vengrijos ministras pirmininkas Viktoras Orbanas, be kita ko, tyčiojosi iš politinių oponentų ir kritinių žiniasklaidos priemonių.

 

    Tuo tarpu korupcija užgniaužia daugelio buvusios Sovietų imperijos šalių ekonomiką. Labiausiai motyvuoti piliečiai balsuoja kojomis ir siekia geresnės ateities Vakaruose, užtemdydami vietas, kurias palieka. Tai gali tapti save stiprinančia dinamika, skatinančia konservatyvius, kaimiškus, populistinius veikėjus, tokius kaip „Įstatymas ir teisingumas“, Lenkijos valdančioji partija, M. Orbano „Fidesz“ ar GERB, Bulgarijos grupė, kuriai vadovauja buvęs ministras pirmininkas Boiko Borisovas, kuris figūruoja įvairiuose skandaluose.

 

    Iki šio mėnesio buvo tik keistas pasipriešinimo mirgėjimas tarp blogos valdžios niūrumo. Vienas iš jų įvyko 2019 m., kai Slovakijos prezidente buvo išrinkta aplinkosaugos ir kovos su korupcija kampanijos dalyvė Zuzana Caputova. Praėjusiais metais kita aktyvistė buvo išrinkta netoliese esančios Moldovos (kuri nėra ES dalis) prezidente. Šių metų pradžioje M. Borisovui nepavyko laimėti ketvirtosios Bulgarijos ministro pirmininko kadencijos, nors jo oponentai dar nespėjo suformuoti vyriausybės.

 

    Spalio mėn. gaiviai pasikeitė tempas. 9 d. Čekijos plutokratų lyderiui Andrejui Babiui sekėsi balsavime. Dabar atrodo, kad jį varžovų koalicija išstums iš premjero pareigų (nors jis gali eiti laikinojo prezidento pareigas, nes dabartinis pareigūnas serga). Vienas iš veiksnių, kurie, regis, lėmė jo pralaimėjimą, buvo jo pasirodymas „Pandoros“ popieriuose - gausybėje dokumentų, atskleidžiančių visuomenės veikėjų naudojimą kriauklių bendrovėse mokesčių rojų ir kitų turtuolių triukų. M. Babisas, kaip ir B. Borisovas, neigia padaręs neteisėtus veiksmus.

 

    Tą pačią dieną kilus nesusijusiam korupcijos skandalui, Austrijos kancleris Sebastianas Kurzas atsistatydino po to, kai jo koalicijos partneriai pagrasino nuversti vyriausybę, jei to nepadarys. Ponas Kurzas taip pat tvirtina nieko blogo nepadaręs. Atrodo, kad visoje Vidurio ir Rytų Europoje rinkėjų tolerancija tariamiems jų valdovų šūksniams baigiasi.

 

    Netgi ponas Orbanas patiria spaudimą. Šešios pagrindinės Vengrijos opozicijos partijos, paprastai tiek pat griebiantys vieni kitų gerklės, kiek ir jo, pagaliau sugebėjo pasiekti tai, ko anksčiau visada nesugebėdavo: suformuoti vieningą frontą. Per procesą, kuris, tiesa, buvo šiek tiek trapus, jie susitarė nekonkuruoti vienas su kitu parlamento rinkimuose ir pasirinko bendrą kandidatą į ministrus pirmininkus. Ketvirtasis „Fidesz“ rinkimų triumfas iš eilės nebeatrodo neišvengiamas.

 

    Tuo pačiu metu, ir ne per anksti, pati ES sunkiai elgiasi su Vengrija ir Lenkija. Europos Komisija turi šimtus milijardų eurų, skirtų padėti išvengti pandemijos sukelto nuosmukio. Kiekviena šalis narė turi teisę į didelę dalį, tačiau komisija turi patvirtinti jų išlaidų planus prieš išmokėdama grynuosius pinigus. Nurodydama teisinės valstybės problemas, ji iki šiol atsisakė suteikti Vengrijai ar Lenkijai jų dalį. Jei teismai nesveiki, mąstymas teigia, tada ES pinigai yra nesaugūs. Ji gali naudoti panašų argumentą, kad atidėtų kitų lėšų paskirstymą.

 

    Ši eilutė atrodo įžūli, tačiau tai gali būti pirmoji akimirka, kai ES padarė daugiau, nei ti pamokė apie demokratijos eroziją jos rytinėje pusėje. Kaip toli ji nori eiti, dar neaišku. Tačiau jei nuolatiniai jos lyderių kalbėjimai apie europines vertybes turės kokią nors prasmę, jie turės būti tvirti. Šlovė spaliui! "[1]

Lietuvoje tie patys posovietiniai vagys dar viską tvarko, garsiai rėkaudami apie naujieną - leis rūkyti kanapes. Ilgai laukta laisvė, o gal dar ne?

·  ·  · 1. "An October revolution; Democracy in the EU." The Economist, 23 Oct. 2021, p. 16(US).

A backlash against bad government in eastern Europe is at last under way

"CORRUPTION, AUTOCRACY, overbearing government--these were the perils many hoped eastern Europe was escaping when its fledgling democracies joined the European Union in the early 2000s. Instead, the rest of Europe now worries, the eastern members have simply smuggled these vices into the EU.

One of the biggest offenders is Poland. First the government in Warsaw stacked its constitutional court with pliant judges and then got them to rule that the Polish constitution can override the European treaties--an assault on a basic principle of EU membership. Viktor Orban, Hungary's long-serving prime minister, has bullied political opponents, critical media outlets and gay Hungarians, among others.

Sleaze, meanwhile, is smothering economies across much of the former Soviet empire. The most motivated citizens vote with their feet and seek a better future in the West, hollowing out the places they leave behind. That can become a self-reinforcing dynamic, giving a boost to conservative, rural, populist outfits, such as Law and Justice, Poland's ruling party, Mr Orban's Fidesz or GERB, the Bulgarian group headed by Boyko Borisov, a former prime minister and prime figure in various scandals.

Until this month, there had been only the odd flicker of resistance amid the gloom of bad government. One came in 2019, with the election of Zuzana Caputova, an environmental and anti-corruption campaigner, as president of Slovakia. Last year another activist was elected president of nearby Moldova (which is not a part of the EU). And earlier this year Mr Borisov failed to win a fourth term as Bulgaria's prime minister--although his opponents have not yet managed to form a government.

October has seen a refreshing change of pace. On the 9th Andrej Babis, the Czech Republic's plutocratic leader, fared badly at the polls. He now looks set to be ousted as prime minister by a rival coalition (though he may step in as temporary president, since the incumbent is ill). One of the factors that seems to have led to his defeat was his appearance in the Pandora papers, a trove of documents revealing public figures' use of shell companies, tax havens and other tricks of the footloose rich. Mr Babis, like Mr Borisov, denies any wrongdoing.

The same day, in an unrelated corruption scandal, the chancellor of Austria, Sebastian Kurz, resigned after his coalition partners threatened to bring down the government if he did not. Mr Kurz also insists he has done nothing wrong. Across central and eastern Europe, voters' tolerance for the alleged shenanigans of their rulers seems to be running out.

Even Mr Orban is under pressure. Hungary's six main opposition parties, generally as much at each other's throats as at his, have at last managed what they had previously always failed to do: to form a united front. In a process that was admittedly a little fractious, they agreed not to compete against one another in parliamentary elections and selected a joint candidate for prime minister. Fidesz's fourth electoral triumph in a row no longer seems inevitable.

At the same time, and none too soon, the EU itself is getting tough with Hungary and Poland. The European Commission is sitting on hundreds of billions of euros allocated to help escape the slump brought on by the pandemic. Each member country is entitled to a big dollop, but the commission must approve their spending plans before it disburses the cash. Citing problems with the rule of law, it has so far refused to give Hungary or Poland their share. If the courts are unsound, the thinking runs, then the EU's cash is unsafe. It may use a similar argument to delay the distribution of other funds.

The row seems arcane, but it may be the first moment the EU has done more than tut-tut about the erosion of democracy in its eastern half. How far it is willing to go remains to be seen. But if its leaders' constant talk of European values is to have any meaning, it will have to be firm. Glory to October!" [1]

 In Lithuania, the same post-Soviet thieves are still handling everything, shouting loudly about the news - they will allow smoking cannabis. The long-awaited freedom, or maybe not yet? 

·  ·  · 1. "An October revolution; Democracy in the EU." The Economist, 23 Oct. 2021, p. 16(US).