On September 8, the German government commissioner for Africa, Günter Nooke, announced in the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung his country’s intention to source “green” hydrogen from the Democratic Republic of the Congo1. For this, a new large dam on the Congo River, the Inga 3, would have to be built. In its construction there are Chinese and European interests2,3.
The Congo is a country that suffered harsh colonization4, which continues to be the victim of extensive plunder by foreign nations and widespread corruption5,6. The construction of this new hydroelectric power station would be an environmental disaster7 that, moreover, would not have an impact on improving the quality of life of the Congolese population8, who barely have access to electricity9. Most of it is exported, as well as numerous raw materials10.
In addition to normalized corruption11, there is great political instability in the country, armed attacks with innocent deaths and human rights violations, as well as forced displacement and numerous cases of sexual exploitation and exploitation of minors. The theft of valuable natural resources by armed groups is also very common12. Meanwhile, the West decides to ignore these facts13.
On the other hand, despite the fact that hydrogen is sold by multinationals as the “green” energy of the future14, there are serious doubts in this regard15:
- Hydrogen is not an energy. It is an element that is not found free in nature.
- More than 90% of hydrogen production is currently made from non-renewable fuels.
- It is expensive to obtain, as the process is very complex.
- At present, the sum of what it costs to obtain it plus to distribute it is energetically unprofitable.
- Not a viable mobility solution16,17.
The enriched countries and their transnationals continue to do, by means of an important “greenwashing”, what they have always done: “sell” to the enriched classes a supposedly promising future, at the expense of the suffering and loss of rights of the impoverished classes. It is their duty to rebel against these practices and live in peace with each other and with the Planet.
1 https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/kongo-gruener-wasserstoff-inga-3-1.5023270?reduced=true 2 https://resourcematters.org/inga-iii-kept-dark/ 3 https://www.jwnenergy.com/article/2020/8/24/congo-hydrogen-plant-being-considered-by-european-/ 4 https://www.monarchie.be/fr/agenda/lettre-de-felicitations-a-loccasion-du-60eme-anniversaire-de-lindependance-du-congo 5 https://www.undocs.org/es/S/2020/482 6 https://www.transparency.org/en/countries/democratic-republic-of-the-congo# 7 https://master.k8s.p4.greenpeace.org/africa/en/press/8195/greenpeace-on-inga-iii-congos-natural-resources-belong-to-the-congolese-not-to-multinationals/ 8 https://www.die-linke-bayern.de/nc/aktuell/presse/detail/news/bundesregierung-muss-sich-von-nookes-wasserstofftraeumen-in-der-demokratischen-republik-kongo-distanz/ 9 https://www.mediacongo.net/article-actualite-62594_l_electricite_pour_10_millions_de_congolais_d_ici_2024.html 10 https://www.usaid.gov/democratic-republic-congo/agriculture-and-food-security 11 https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20160409-rdc-proches-president-joseph-kabila-panama-papers-jaynet-dan-gertler 12 https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/12/1079442 13 https://www.dw.com/de/merkel-m%C3%B6chte-motor-afrikas-ankurbeln/a-51270749 14 https://www.toyota.es/hidrogeno/sociedad-del-hidrogeno 15 https://www.irena.org/energytransition/Power-Sector-Transformation/Hydrogen-from-Renewable-Power 16 https://crashoil.blogspot.com/2020/12/la-fiebre-del-hidrogeno-20-y-iii.html 17 https://www.volkswagenag.com/en/news/stories/2019/08/hydrogen-or-battery--that-is-the-question.html#
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