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TOPIC: energy

Green

“Poland’s Chernobyl” — Portrait Of A Nation Addicted To Coal

In Gdansk, year-long waits for medical care, empty playgrounds and windows dirtied by smog have caused this Polish coastal city’s residents to deem it “Chernobyl”. But Europe's most coal-dependent country does not plan to stop importing it anytime soon.

GDANSK — The trucks are usually unloaded at night, without any tarps covering their contents. “We keep our doors and windows closed, but our entire family continues to have upper respiratory problems,” said a resident of Gdansk’s port neighborhood.

They live amid clouds of coal.

Cars on the road are dirty, and black sludge covers the renovated facades of buildings. Those who live here have given up trying to rid their windowsills of it. It’s of no use: the coal dust gets everywhere.

But it isn’t just cleanliness which is causing deep concern among the city’s residents. “We are most afraid for our health. Plenty of people have complained of issues which began with the arrival of the dust. These primarily include problems with their sinuses, upper respiratory tracts, and headaches,” said Paulina Konarska, a member of the Nowy Port District Council. “People are coughing up black phlegm," she added. "Our clinic cannot keep up with admitting patients, and wait times for the pulmonologist are now over half a year,” she said.

The situation shows no signs of improvement in the near future, and uncertainties among residents have caused them to take it upon themselves to look for answers.

Iwona Lubaszka, who lives in the center of the Nowy Port neighborhood, says her daughter personally reached out to the Provincial Inspectorate for Environmental Protection, who told her that “the situation will not improve until it rains.” According to Lubaszka, the PIEP launched an investigation into one of the post-area companies in May, although complaints of coal pollution came much earlier.

Her neighbor, Małgorzata Motog, remembers April 23 as the worst day of smog. “This was the first warm, sunny and dry day of the year,” she said. “People went outside to ride their bikes, or to tend to their gardens.” And, recalls Motog: “a huge cloud of dust was floating above everyone.”

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Khodorkovsky: Don't Count On A Swift End To The War In Ukraine

The West is deceiving itself if it hopes for a quick end to the Ukraine war. Above all, it must consistently implement an energy transition — otherwise, it will remain at Putin's mercy, writes prominent Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, in German daily Die Welt.

-OpEd-

LONDON — In the spring of 2014, I went to Kyiv with a large group of Russians representing the European part of the Russian cultural and social elite to express our solidarity with the Maidan protests in Ukraine, and our disapproval of the Russian annexation of Crimea.

Many of us then flew to Kharkiv and Donetsk to meet with Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine who were concerned about what was happening.

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In Donetsk, among others, I had a conversation with the leaders of those who stormed the regional administration, including Denis Vladimirovich Pushilin, the current head of the "Donetsk People's Republic." Since then, it has been absurd for me to listen to those who still do not understand that the destabilization of eastern Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea were a "special operation" of the Kremlin from the very beginning.

It is amazing that there are still people who do not understand that Putin is not simply riding the wave of an imperial renaissance in Russia. He is consistently pushing this wave himself, helped by clever propaganda and the direct financing of imperialist-minded national patriots. At the same time, he is suppressing the voices of the sane part of society.

Putin has already used war to solve domestic problems four times (1999 in Chechnya, 2008 in Georgia, 2014 and 2022 in Ukraine) — if you don't count the war in Syria and the de facto annexation of Transnistria, a region in Moldova, which did not "catch on" with public opinion. Putin's main goal is to stay in power, although in recent years there has been a shift toward "legacy." This means a partial restoration of the empire and its influence.

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LNG Carriers, Europe's Floating Response To Russia's Gas War

From Croatia to Spain, Portugal, Germany and France, revamped LNG gas routes are providing an agile European energy response to the cutting off of Russian gas since the war in Ukraine began.

KRK — Tourists know the island of Krk, in northern Croatia, for its heavenly coves that open onto the Adriatic Sea’s translucent waters. But now, Krk will also be known for its strategic role in the energy security of Croatia and Central Europe.

Not far from the beaches, a 280-meter-long ship carrying natural gas is moored in a bay, protected from storms. This blue and white ship, known as the “LNG Croatia” has been completely reconfigured to become a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.

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Over the past two years, more than fifty LNG carriers have unloaded their valuable cargo in Krk — mainly from the Gulf of Mexico, in the United States, but also from Qatar, Egypt, Nigeria, Trinidad and elsewhere.

In the countries where it is produced, the gas is cooled at a temperature of minus 160°C, so it can be transported in liquid form. After arriving at Krk, it is transferred to the "LNG Croatia” ship, where it is heated with seawater and becomes gaseous again, and then transported ashore through a large pipe. Once ashore, the gas is pressurized and injected into a pipeline that flows into the Croatian gas network, as well as pipelines that connect to neighboring Slovenia and Hungary.

The LNG Croatia is a boat that no longer sails. But Boris Martic, its captain, is still surprised by his country’s new situation. “All around here, it’s crowded with tourists in the summer,” he says, pointing from the sunny deck of the vessel. "I would have never imagined, only a few years ago, that Croatia was going to become an LNG import hub.”

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Clean Hydrogen Production In Egypt: A Big Green Step Or More Hot Air?

As the Mediterranean region awakens to the potential of green hydrogen as a clean alternative, Egypt is still hesitant to invest heavily in the sector. For good reason?

CAIRO — When it opened in Aswan in 1963, the KIMA fertilizer plant was a clean energy producer ahead of its time. Running entirely off the surge of cheap, hydroelectric power spilling over from the Aswan Dam, it produced green hydrogen, used to make green ammonia and ultimately fertilizers, all part of a national politics of the time that was oriented toward self-sufficiency.

That the KIMA plant boasted state-of-the-art green credentials was almost a “coincidence” of the project, says Osama Fawzy, hydrogen consultant and manager of Hydrogen Intelligence platform, who attributes the decision to use renewable power at the fertilizer factory to its proximity to the dam and the relatively low cost of hydroelectric power for Egypt at the time. Yet as the natural gas and oil sectors boomed in the 1970s, KIMA’s specialized hydroelectric equipment deteriorated and was never replaced, and the plant was converted to run on cheaper natural gas in 2019.

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Society
Irene Caselli

Switching Off Street Lights? Not The Brightest Solution To Our Energy Crisis

Keeping the lights out at night may be a good measure both for the environment and in the context of an energy crisis – but it may have repercussions on people's sense of security, in particular for women.

As the leaves fall and an energy crisis looms, countries across Europe are preparing for a winter that will be dark, figuratively and literally.

After deciding to switch to cold showers in public buildings, Germany is now turning off street lights at night. Since Sept. 1, the Energy Saving Ordinance has officially prohibited the illumination of public buildings, including landmarks, from the outside.

Others are following suit: In Paris, the Eiffel Tower will see its lights dimmed an hour earlier than usual starting this week, while some 12,000 towns around the country have fully or partially switched off public lighting at night. Spain requires shops and monuments to dim the lights and shut down at 10 p.m. sharp.

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Geopolitics
Christian Bueger

Nord Stream Sabotage: Why Underwater Pipelines Are So Vulnerable

Whatever caused the damage to the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, it appears to be the first major attack on critical “subsea” (underwater) infrastructure in Europe. It’s now widely thoughtnot least by Nato – that the explosions that led to major leaks in the two pipelines were not caused by accidents.

The alliance says they were a deliberate act of sabotage.

The attacks occurred in the exclusive economic zones of Denmark and Sweden and demonstrate the risks that Europe’s subsea infrastructures are facing. This raises the question of the vulnerabilities of European pipelines, electricity and internet cables, and other maritime infrastructure. Europe will have to revisit its policies for protecting them.

But it is still unclear how the attacks were carried out. The investigations will probably take months to complete. Still, there are two likely scenarios.

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Economy
Stefanie Bolzen, Philipp Fritz, Virginia Kirst, Martina Meister, Mandoline Rutkowski, Stefan Schocher, Claus, Christian Malzahn and Nikolaus Doll

Europe's Winter Energy Crisis Has Already Begun

In the face of Russia's stranglehold over supplies, the European Commission has proposed support packages and price caps. But across Europe, fears about the cost of living are spreading — and with it, doubts about support for Ukraine.

-Analysis-

In her State of the Union address on September 14, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, issued an urgent appeal for solidarity between EU member states in tackling the energy crisis, and towards Ukraine. Von der Leyen need only look out her window to see that tensions are growing in capital cities across Europe due to the sharp rise in energy prices.

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In the Czech Republic, people are already taking to the streets, while opposition politicians elsewhere are looking to score points — and some countries' support for Ukraine may start to buckle.

With winter approaching, Europe is facing a true test of both its mettle, and imagination.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Cameron Manley

After Major Setback In Ukraine, 7 Options For What Putin Could Do Next

Negotiate? Stall? Double down? The Russian leader suddenly finds himself in front of a situation that offers no obvious good choices. Doing nothing, however, is not an option.

In just one week, the war in Ukraine has made a full about-turn. Ukraine’s armed forces went from an apparent slow ceding of land to launching two hugely successful counter offensives around Kharkiv in the nation’s east, and in the south near the Russian-occupied city of Kherson.

As of Friday, Kyiv claims to have recaptured some 8,000 square kilometers of its territory, taking back in a matter of days what it took Russia months to originally conquer.

By now, there is no doubt that Russia is in serious trouble. President Vladimir Putin’s tentative encounter this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping, his most important potential international ally, only confirms that his options for reversing the recent battlefield defeats may be rapidly shrinking.

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Geopolitics
Philip Volkmann-Schluck

Bulgaria And Hungary: Risks Of A Pro-Russian Alliance Inside The EU

Bulgaria had sworn off Russian gas imports, but then its government collapsed. Now pro-Russian politicians are in power, which for the European Union means there is much more at stake than just energy supply.

The letter Z, a symbol of support for Putin’s war in Ukraine, has appeared on Bulgarian government buildings in Sofia. Last week, demonstrators fixed a Z in black tape to the entrance of the Ministry of Energy’s headquarters.

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They were protesting their government’s announcement that it would reopen negotiations with Russia about importing gas – although Bulgaria had declared public support for Kyiv and subsequently stopped all Russian imports. “Putin’s gas is a trap,” one of the placards reads.

These scenes have been growing more common in the Bulgarian capital since the reformist government led by Prime Minister Kiril Petkov was ousted last month in a no-confidence vote. Petkov had pledged to tackle corruption and taken a strong stance against Russia's invasion. But his coalition government fell after just seven months in office when an ally quit.

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Geopolitics
Christine Kensche

Europe v. Turkey: A New Mediterranean Gas Race That May Turn Nasty

Europe needs new energy sources. One alternative to Russian gas could be in the eastern Mediterranean. But with Turkey also actively exploring the region for reserves, the potential for conflict is high.

It is the pride of the Turkish fleet. The bow of the "Abdülhamid Han" ship is painted red, with a crescent moon and star emblazoned on the sides. Like all four of Turkey's drillships, which are used for exploratory offshore drilling, it is named after a sultan and embodies Istanbul's claims of being a great power.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calls the state-of-the-art drilling ship a "symbol of Turkey's new vision in the energy sector."

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Green
Guangyi Pan and Hao Yang*

China Can't Kick Its Coal Habit

China has endured two months of scorching heatwaves and drought that have affected power supply in the country. Spooked by future energy security, Beijing is reinvesting heavily in coal with disastrous implications for climate change.

Two months of scorching heatwaves and drought plunged China into an energy security crisis.

The southwest province of Sichuan, for example, relies on dams to generate around 80% of its electricity, with growth in hydropower crucial for China meeting its net-zero by 2060 emissions target.

Sichuan suffered from power shortages after low rainfall and extreme temperatures over 40℃ dried up rivers and reservoirs. Heavy rainfall this week, however, has just seen power in Sichuan for commercial and industrial use fully restored, according to official Chinese media.

The energy crisis has seen Beijing shift its political discourse and proclaim energy security as a more urgent national mission than the green energy transition. Now, the government is investing in a new wave of coal-fired power stations to try to meet demand.

In the first quarter of 2022 alone, China approved 8.63 gigawatts of new coal plants and, in May, announced C¥ 10 billion (around $1.4 billion) of investment in coal power generation. What’s more, it will expand the capacity of a number of coal mines to ensure domestic supply as the international coal market price jumped amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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In The News
Cameron Manley, Irene Caselli, Bertand Hauger, Lisa Berdet, Lila Paulou and Emma Albright

Ukraine Says 385 Square Miles Recaptured Since Counter-Offensive Began

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainian forces reclaimed 1,000 square kilometers (385 square miles) of territory in the south and east since launching their counter-offensive on Sept. 1. The troops continue to advance in both the Kharkiv and Kherson regions.

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“As part of ongoing defense operations, our heroes have already liberated dozens of settlements. And today (Thursday) this movement continued, there are new results,” Zelensky said in a nightly address on Thursday. Ukraine’s military has reportedly retaken 20 settlements in Kharkiv Oblast.

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