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The ability of the Sahara Desert in northern Africa to generate renewable energy due to its dry climate and geographical location has long been known. For centuries, the people of Europe, in particular, have seen it as a source of solar energy that could achieve much of Europe’s energy.
In 2009, the Desertec project, a bid to generate energy for Europe from solar-powered plants in the Sahara was established by European industrial partners and financial institutions with the idea that small desert areas could supply 15 percent of Europe’s electricity through very special. direct shipping cables.
Desertec’s work eventually stood in the middle of a debate on its celestial value and its neo-colonial meaning. After trying to revive such as Desertec 2.0 and look at the local market for renewable energy, the project was reborn in Desertec 3.0, which aims to meet Europe’s demand for hydrogen, “pure” energy instead of fossil fuels.
In early 2020, the Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII) established the MENA Hydrogen Alliance to help set up power plants in the Middle East and North Africa that produce hydrogen for export.
Although in Europe such projects may sound like a good idea – to help the continent achieve its goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions – ideas from North Africa are very different. There are growing concerns that instead of helping the region with its green transformation, these projects have led to the seizure of local resources, land grabbing, environmental degradation and the involvement of corrupt individuals.
Hydrogen: A powerful new frontier in Africa
As the world seeks to transform renewable energy amid the growing climate crisis, hydrogen has been identified as a “clean” fuel. Its high hydrogen content is the result of the removal of fats, which lead to high levels of carbon dioxide (gray hydrogen). The purest form of hydrogen – the “green” hydrogen – is derived from water electrolysis, a process that can be utilized by electricity from renewable energy.
In recent years, under intense pressure from various interested parties, the EU has embraced the idea of hydrogen change as part of a climate response initiative, launching in 2020 its hydrogen strategy within the European Green Deal (EGD). The plan seeks to transform into “green” hydrogen by 2050, through their production and production of sustainable food from Africa.
It was inspired by the ideas offered by the business and hospitality group Hydrogen Europe, which has launched the “2 x 40 GW green hydrogen initiative”. Under this assumption, by 2030 the EU would have 40 gigawatts of renewable hydrogen electrolyser power and import another 40 gigawatts from electrolysers in the surrounding areas, among them the deserts of North Africa, using existing gas pipelines that already connect Algeria. in Europe.
Germany, where Desertec was founded, has been at the forefront of the EU hydrogen process. His government has already approached the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa and Morocco to produce “decarbonized oil” from renewable energy, to export to Europe and to evaluate other countries / countries that are eligible for green hydrogen production. In 2020, the Moroccan government signed an agreement with Germany to develop the first green hydrogen plant on the continent.
Experiments like Desertec have been running fast on the hydrogen bandwidth, which could bring in billions of EU dollars. Its manifesto highlights issues that are being used to promote hydrogen and energy efficiency. It tries to portray it as beneficial to the community. It says it could bring “economic development, future jobs and stability in North African countries”.
But it is also clear from the nature of this conspiracy: “for a renewable energy system in Europe, we need North Africa to develop solar and wind power, converted into hydrogen, to supply the pipeline to Europe”. And it shows that it shows its commitment to “Fortress Europe”, saying that the works “[reduce] economic migration from the region to Europe ”.
In other words, Desertec’s vision and many of the “green” European projects in North Africa seek to preserve modern, Neo-Colonial Europe and regional integration.
Neo-colonial ‘green transition’
During the colonial period, European powers established a major economic system to capture wealth, goods and (slaves) jobs in Africa. Although the 20th century brought freedom to African countries, this system was never abolished; it was simply modified, often with the help of local post-colonial and elected leaders.
Now the fear is that the EU’s green transformation will continue to feed the destructive economy in order to benefit major European trade and destroy the cities of the African allies. The push for new hydrogen chains that are being offered in projects like Desertec does not reduce this stress.
This is due to the fact that one of the major EU-hydrogen substitutes represents oil companies, whose origins are closely linked to what European countries did. Two of their DII counterparts, for example, are the French giant Total Total and the big Dutch oil Shell.
In Africa and elsewhere, the oil refineries continue to use economic strategies established during colonial times to divert local resources and transfer wealth to the continent.
They also want to protect the political situation in African countries so that they can continue to benefit from meaningful relationships with corrupt officials and ruling elites. This allows them to participate in labor violence, environmental degradation, community violence, and so on with impunity.
In this sense, it is not surprising that the oil and gas industry are forced to embrace hydrogen as the future “pure” oil in order to remain relevant and in business. The companies want to maintain existing gas pipelines and pipelines, as well as the economic ties that follow.
Considering the corporate history of environmental degradation and abuse, it is not surprising that hydrogen drive conceals major environmental hazards. The Desertec Manifesto, for example, shows that “in the first phase (between 2030-2035), more hydrogen volumes can be produced by converting natural gas into hydrogen, while CO2 is stored in a gas-free environment”. This combined with the use of hydropower is another example of waste disposal in the south of the country and the extraction of natural resources from north to south.
The economic benefits of the local people are also being questioned. Much future funding would be needed to lay the groundwork for the production and export of green hydrogen to Europe. Considering the past in terms of low-cost and high-cost operations, the investment could create significant debt for the host country, and increase its reliance on international lending and Western financial support.
The powerful North African projects launched by European aid over the past decade already show how colonial power is being regenerated even by transforming it into more and more powerful in the form of green colonization or green conquest.
In Tunisia, a powerful solar project called TuNur, approved by Desertec, was well-received due to its export plans. Given the country’s lack of energy and reliance on producing natural gas from Algeria to generate electricity, exporting electricity while locals are suffering from frequent shutters is not clear.
In Morocco, the process of acquiring invisible land and water use plans for the Ouarzazate Solar Plant – which is also supported by DII members – has raised questions about potential harm to communities. The high cost of the project – funded by loans from international financial institutions – has also raised concerns about the amount of its debt in the national budget.
Amid the growing climate crisis, North African countries will not be able to continue participating in such atrocities. They will not be able to continue to sell cheap natural resources in Europe and migratory areas due to its green changes.
They need the necessary changes that will affect the transition to an economy that is sustainable, sustainable and inclusive for all. In this case, relations with existing neo-colonial systems should be challenged and suspended.
In the case of European countries and institutions, they have to abandon monarchy and racism in the export of foreign currency. Otherwise, they would continue to feed the green colonists and pursue promotions and use of natural resources and services on so-called green jobs, which could jeopardize global efforts to respond to climate change.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Al Jazeera.
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