The environmentalist buying the world's oil

Dear Reader,

What has Robert Habeck, Germany’s Federal Minister for the Economy, been doing since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started three weeks ago?

Well, a look at the press releases on his ministry’s website leads one to a curious conclusion. In the midst of one of the worst crises in Europe in 70 years, he has been busy trying to get the nebulous hydrogen economy off the ground.

In the past fortnight he has been to the US and Norway. Tomorrow he is flying to Qatar, and the UAE - all in an effort to convince these countries of the importance of hydrogen and other “green” energy sources.

A read out from his ministry about the imminent trip to the Middle East stated that “the centre point of the trip was a discussion of energy, specifically hydrogen and LNG (liquified natural gas).”

An LNG terminal. Photo: Shutterstock

“We need to speed up the transition from conventional natural gas to green hydrogen. The best way to do this is via a European and international network,” Habeck said b…