PAKISTAN

‘The pride of Thar’: How Krishna Kumari broke the Senate’s glass ceiling

Kumari's lifelong struggles, determination and advocacy made her the first Hindu Dalit woman elected to the Senate in 2018.

Muskaan Mujahid
22 Mar, 2024

When Krishna Kumari donned her vibrant traditional attire in Parliament, she didn’t just proudly represent her community — she also encapsulated the struggles, determination and advocacy that made her the first Hindu Dalit woman to be elected to the Senate.

Kumari — lovingly called Keshoo Bai by her parents — is a 45-year-old rights activist belonging to the Kohli community from the remote village of Dhana Gam in Sindh’s Nagarparkar. She was elected as a PPP senator on a reserved seat for women in March 2018.

Social media was abuzz with congratulatory posts as it celebrated the win for Pakistan’s Hindu community, which made up under two per cent of the country’s population in 2017.

Kumari was greeted with traditional songs and flowers upon her arrival in her hometown of Nagarparkar after securing the party ticket, and received a round of applause from her fellow senators on the day of her oath-taking.



“I was told that it is such a big Upper House of Pakistan, where there are big names seen on the TV and in newspapers. […] So there was a fear in my heart but senators not just from my party but from others as well supported me a lot,” the recently retired senator recalled to Images.

However, that was only the beginning of her career in mainstream politics. Her journey of striving for an education despite a myriad of challenges, fighting against bonded labour and raising awareness about women’s and social issues goes way back.

“Finally, we are seen as humans,” Kumari — belonging to a much-neglected caste within the Hindu community — was quoted as saying by The New York Times when elected.

Kumari had a tough childhood when she and her family were held for three years as bonded labourers in a private jail allegedly owned by the landlord of Umerkot district’s Kunri. They were set free in a police raid.

“We didn’t know what rights we have and even if we should ask for them or not as our people used to think that our conditions were our fate,” the ex-senator said.

“I used to think the same but as I received education, […] I got to know that working under someone or what was happening with us was wrong.”

Her parents facilitated her and her brother Veerji’s studies despite the difficulties they faced. Married off at the young age of 16, Kumari attributes her success to the support she received from her parents and in-laws — a story rarely heard in Pakistan’s villages.

The lone girl at school

As a girl growing up in a remote area where education was not prevalent, Kumari was a pioneer for other girls in her community. “I used to be the only girl among all the boys who would go to the school with my brother,” Kumari recalled.

“My parents did not even know what education was. Till today, I cannot understand how my father even considered the idea of sending me to school,” she said.

Stressing the importance of being determined in one’s actions, she emphasised, “Once you resolve that you have to get ahead, then there aren’t any obstacles in your path and you also get support.”

“Education is almost non-existent in our community,” Kumari said. When her parents received a marriage proposal for her when she had completed eighth grade, it might have spelled the end to her education.

But as they say, where there’s a will, there’s a way. The rights activist said her father-in-law assured her parents that they would let her continue her studies. Kumari appreciated her husband and mother-in-law as well for being supportive of her.

“Sometimes he would take an off from school, sometimes I would,” she described how the couple would manage their studies and personal lives simultaneously.

Kumari said her daughter was just a month old when she sat for her ninth grade exams. Nevertheless, the new mother continued her studies — juggling them with her family responsibilities like many working women do. “I would go to my university after dropping off my daughter at her school.”

Encouraged and supported by a trailblazer like her mother, Kumari’s eldest daughter has completed her M Phil degree and her second daughter has done an MBBS. Her son and a third daughter are currently enrolled in university.

Raising awareness on social issues

“My brother and I thought to start working for people. We started social work in 2008 and also got an NGO (non-governmental organisation) registered,” Kumari said.

She has worked as the chairperson and project director of Development, Awareness and Management of Natural Resources (Daman), a non-profit civil society organisation.

She recalled working with Alliance Against Social Harassment at Workplace (Aasha) and on a 2010 bill that made the harassment of women a crime — which was not just a legal milestone but also encouraged discussion on the topic.

“We don’t even like to mention the topic in public and ignore it by labelling it a ‘social vice’. They put a curtain on it saying ‘don’t talk about it as it would lead to our defamation’,” Kumari said.

“After the law was enacted, we had to work on implementing it in the entire country,” she said, adding that she used to hold talks and counsel people facing various social issues at a legal aid centre in Hyderabad that she headed.

Counselling was not the only aspect of Kumari’s work. Working with the culture department, she used to bring groups of women to Lok Virsa, where they would perform dandiya dances to the beats of drums.

While her brother won a union council election and joined the PPP in 2014, Kumari entered Pakistan’s political scene in 2018 when she also joined the same party.

Climbing up the Senate stairs

There is no shortage of problems faced by women in Pakistan in both their personal and professional lives. For Kumari, there was the added challenge of navigating political waters as a member of a minority community.

“As we have a patriarchal system, of course, women are kept caged in a box — ‘don’t go outside alone; if a few people would sit together [and talk], what would they say’,” she said, echoing what many women around the country have to hear.

However, Kumari said she had a “good time” during her Senate tenure. “I never felt that I am from so and so area or from a minority or that someone pressured us or kept us caged in a box,” she said.

Speaking about her party, she said, “I have never felt [marginalised] within the party. They never let me feel like a minority.”

Krishna Kumari arrives at Parliament with her parents on March 12, 2018.

 — Tanveer Shahzad / White Star


Noting that there was now a “good ratio” of women in Parliament and the provincial assemblies, she said that “conditions in Pakistan for women have improved compared to other Asian countries”.

There is still a long way to go, as, according to IPU Parline, the percentage of women in the Senate has slightly increased from 16 per cent to 19pc from 2012-2021. For the National Assembly, the percentage has remained stagnant at around 20pc for the previous three tenures.

Standing up for her community

From forced conversions and marriages to kidnappings, Sindh and the its minority residents have for years been plagued by serious issues that still require concrete solutions.

Of course, a top priority for Kumari was reducing the dangers faced by her community.

The rights activist lamented the rejection of a 2021 bill against forced conversions by a parliamentary committee after it faced opposition from certain lawmakers.

“I wanted with all my heart that it had gotten passed as I don’t think it was harmful to anyone,” she said, adding that its approval could have solved many issues faced by the Hindu community.

“It was just like a bill for domestic violence or harassment. Similarly, issues faced by minorities would have been solved. Yeh dukh hai mujhe [This saddens me],” an audibly dejected Kumari said.

However, keeping her hopes high and with her usual determination, the former senator said she would introduce the bill again if she got a chance to do so.

Speaking up for everyone

Kumari’s actions have been loud and clear in declaring that her activism is not just for the minorities in Pakistan but for every person who is being wronged and treated unjustly.

While she chaired her first Senate session on Women’s Day in 2019, it was the session on Kashmir Day in 2022 — the second chaired by her — that left an indelible mark on her career, having been reported in Indian media as well.

“It was a slap on their face that [a woman from a community] that is not even 3pc [of the population] is chairing the Upper House of Pakistan on such a day. In my opinion, there cannot be a bigger shameful thing for Modi,” the ex-senator slammed the Indian prime minister.

Senator Krishna Kumari chairs a Senate session on Feb 4, 2022.

 — DawnNewsTV


“What India is doing with the minorities, I wanted to give them and Modi the message that what you are doing is wrong. They also have rights, [including] the right to live and move freely,” Kumari said resolutely.

Expressing how glad she was to get the opportunity, she said, “If I see that there is injustice taking place somewhere… my heart is very weak so if something is happening somewhere, I end up crying.”

And it’s not just human rights violations that Kumar speaks up against. Her work has also extended to protecting nature and heritage.

In August last year, she tabled a resolution asking the government to declare the Karoonjhar Mountain Range in Tharparkar a national heritage site and a national park for wildlife conservation. The resolution was passed by the Senate.

‘A lot to work on’

While her tenure as a senator may have ended, Kumari remains resolute in her mission to continue her social awareness activities and improve the living conditions of the people in her hometown.

“My work is ongoing in Tharparkar […] There are a lot of things that need to be worked on,” she said, adding that her focus currently is on education and maternal health.

Recalling work done by the PPP in the area, she said, “Roads have been constructed but more work is needed as the area is huge. […] Providing various villages with access to drinking water is also needed.”

Stories like Kumari’s are rarerly heard in Pakistan, where tribes, business, family, caste and so many other things influence mainstream politics. Here’s to hoping that Pakistan sees a greater representation of minorities because issues faced by them — and this country — cannot be solved without grass-root efforts.

This March, Images is profiling trailblazing women who are stirring change in our society. Women who inspire us and women who make us proud. You can read all our stories on inspiring Pakistani women here.

Trailblazers and change makers

Embracing feminism

Rihab Khalid 

DAWN

March 22, 2024


FEMINISM often sparks debate. It is hailed by some as a beacon of equality and derided by others as a divisive ideology. It is almost taboo in Pakistan, especially since the Aurat March that began in 2018 raised critical issues of gender equality and faced a fierce backlash. While it was accused of emphasising minor issues and controversial slogans, the division went beyond placards. Rather than uniting people under a common cause, the marches inadvertently widened the gap between many Pakistanis and the feminist movement, highlighting a crucial misunderstanding of what feminism entails.

This piece explores a deeper, research-informed understanding of feminism, that aims to foster a more inclusive dialogue to move towards a more equitable society.

What is feminism?: 

Feminism is a sociopolitical movement that champions equality, tackling systemic discrimination and oppression by challenging power imbalances. It advocates for a society where everyone, irrespective of identity, is free from discrimination, by dismantling underlying oppressive social structures (such as patriarchy) through empowering marginalised voices and advocating for equitable access to resources.

Feminism has evolved in various waves: 

from legal rights and suffrage of first-wave feminism, to broader societal issues of second-wave feminism, to postcolonial thought in third-wave feminism, and now emphasising ‘intersectionality’ that recognises that oppression can intersect across gender, race, class, and more. Feminism is not limited to a single gender or to women alone. Though historically focused on women’s rights due to greater discrimination against women, contemporary feminism aims to eradicate systemic inequalities that harm everyone, promoting solidarity among all who aim for universal equity and justice.

Contemporary feminism aims to eradicate systemic inequalities that harm everyone.

Feminism: a Western ideal? 

Often misperceived as a Western, liberal, or anti-religious movement, feminism has evolved into a diverse, global phenomenon that includes Islamic feminism, advocating for gender equity within Islamic teachings and challenging patriarchal norms. In Pakistan, since 1947, the feminist movement has navigated between secular/ liberal and Islamic perspectives but shares the goal of advocating for women’s rights and empowerment. While feminist groups like the Women’s Action Forum have advocated for women’s equal rights and access to the public sphere, contemporary Islamic feminists leverage Islamic principles for advocating reforms in marriage, divorce, and inheritance rights. Both unite under the common cause of women’s emancipation and rights.

Why choose feminism?

 Feminism means opposing pervasive injustices and violence in daily life, and recognising that while such injustices manifest across socio-spatial demographics, they are deeply influenced by gender. In Pakistan, about 32 per cent of women have experienced gender-based violence and over 90pc face domestic violence in their lifetimes. Pakistan ranks 142nd out of 146 on the Global Gender Gap Index. Of the 23 million children not attending school, the majority are girls — 58pc in Sindh and 78pc in Balochistan. Additionally, while only 50pc of women own a mobile phone compared to 81pc of men, women are also 49pc less likely to use mobile internet, highlighting significant gaps in access to education, communication, and digital resources.

Women constitute only about 25pc of the formal workforce (compared to 83pc of men) and hold merely 4.5pc of senior positions. Additionally, they occupy only 20pc of the national parliament seats, underscoring the struggle to meet gender quotas. Even when women participate in the formal economy, they fail to secure equal wages and benefits for the same amount of work. A UNDP report notes that the country’s gender wage gap results in a cumulative wage loss of Rs500 billion, across women’s lifetime earnings. Women undertake four times more unpaid and undervalued care work than men, highlighting the critical need for feminism to address and dismantle the systemic barriers women face.

My research reveals that in Pakistan, access to energy and services is significantly gendered. Ru­­ral women often bear compounded burdens of agricultural and household responsibilities without clean energy access, thus causing their health, well-being and climate resilience to be adversely af­­fe­c­ted. Urban low-income women face similar disparities, balancing income work with household chores, and experiencing limited mobility and socioeconomic opportunities.

Such disparities extend bey­ond income levels, and are rooted in women’s intersectional identities — including class, religion, edu­cation, occupation, and location — and household roles as caregivers, household managers, mothers- and daughters-in-law, income-generators, housemaids, etc, highlighting the need to address such gendered disparities across all social strata. Femi­nist approaches also reveal how many such disparities result from cultural conservatism, entrenched patriarchy, gender blindness and stereotypes, rather than religion. By exposing and challenging these oppressive systems, feminism seeks to dismantle rigid gender roles, improving the visibility and understanding of gender disparities.

Feminism for all: 

Feminism has grown into a diverse movement of plurality beyond any single ideology. While the Aurat March faces the challenge of uniting diverse feminist thoughts, it has succeeded in spotlighting critical issues like gender violence and socioeconomic inequalities — issues of justice with sound basis in Islamic jurisprudence, like women’s right to assets, land ownership, safety, education and basic services. Undermining these rights perpetuates discrimination, contradicting the principles of both religion and humanity. Focusing on these issues, the Aurat March offers a potent platform for all women and feminists to advocate for these fundamental rights. Success lies in celebrating diversity and uniting to achieve the common good.

At its core, being a feminist means opposing oppression and supporting equitable policies for all individuals to pursue their aspirations free from discrimination and violence. Therefore, if you are an advocate of equal pay for equal work, if you champion every individual’s right to education and development, if you stand against sexual harassment, and if you believe in equal access to safe and inclusive spaces free from intimidation, then you too are a feminist.

The writer is a feminist energy researcher working on the gender-energy-space nexus with a PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK.
X: @rihab_khalid

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2024

PAKISTAN

Whither health & environment?

Zulfiqar A Bhutta | Zafar Mirza | Maha Qasim | Ali Tauqeer Sheikh | Jai Das 

DAWN

Published March 22, 2024 

THE fact that the health and climate ministries were not included in the first round of cabinet oath-taking, is a sad reflection on the priority given to the well-being of the poor and climate-vulnerable population. It reveals unfortunate policy short-sightedness given the importance of the social determinants of health, climate change, and development. The cost of inaction is too high, something the agreement with the IMF will need to recognise.

Pakistan has not recovered from the devastating floods of 2022, with losses exceeding $30 billion. Over 32 million people were affected, 2.1m houses and more than 2,000 health facilities des­troyed, of which only a fraction have been rebuilt. Of the $10bn pledged for rebuilding in January 2023, relatively little has reached the populations in greatest need, underscoring the enormous and long-term impacts of such disasters.

The unseasonal rains and snowfall in the north of the country in the last few weeks have played havoc with farmers and transport systems underscoring the fact that the face of climate change isn’t just extreme heat.

A recent analysis by scholars at the Aga Khan University underscores the importance of the ste­a­dy increase in surface temperature and reduct­i­­on in subsoil moisture as critical contributing factors to early childhood wasting and stunting. Some of the impacts of climate change on poor, vulnera­b­­le populations, especially pregnant women, are likely considerable, with notable gender inequality.

The worsening human development crisis must be the centrepiece of all state reforms.

Much has happened on this front, with Pakistan leading some of the global efforts to constitute equitable allocation of resources, such as with the Loss and Damage Fund, for low- and middle-income countries. However national and provincial policies around investments for mitigating the effects of climate change and promotion of resilience or adaptation remain nascent. Funds from the National Finance Commission Award remain in the provincial capitals and are not allocated to district levels where they are needed the most.

Development of a framework for action for climate-resilient health systems by the federal Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination and the constitution of climate-risk screening for development projects at the level of the federal Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives are welcome steps but need to be matched by concrete action and protection of investments.

The health sector is both a contributor to carbon emissions and a victim of climate change, and not just through disasters and impact on services. The current and projected energy crises have huge implications for the functionality of health facilities and outreach services. Decarbonisation would require investments in alternative energy sources and reduction in wastage. Solarisation of the health facilities is an easy and a low-hanging fruit, but investments in climate-resilient health infrastructure and health facilities would require considerable resources. Much can be done in the interim by indigenous solutions and structural modification.

The ambitious plans for reforestation and tree plantation, on hold for a couple of years now, are important building blocks for ecosystem-based approaches to public health and well-being and must be restarted. Like so many of Pakistan’s problems in addressing the challenges, the solutions lie within and need to be based on existing programmes and resources.

Having the most polluted city in the world as a capital, the new Punjab government has rightly declared cleaning the environment and reducing the omnipresent crisis of air quality and smog a priority. This needs to be accompanied by clear, actionable and long-term strategies and financial allocations for implementation.

Apart from the huge economic impact, the environmental determinants of health are a major contributor to long-term ill health and non-communicable diseases, and the cost of inaction is hugely greater than investments for prevention and mitigation.

Other countries have managed to clean seemingly inexorable issues of air quality at scale. The case of Mexico City, with its natural disadvantage of altitude and location, is a case in point. Voted the most polluted city in the world some four decades ago, it has now disappeared from the list of most polluted cities. Improving air quality in Pakistan can have notable health benefits. The World Bank has estimated that the benefits of cleaner fuels on health in Pakistan are easily 50 to 70 per cent greater than every dollar spent.

So, what can the new government do, given that it has a huge opportunity to reset the path to solid development and economic reconstruction? First and foremost, effectively arresting and turning the ongoing and worsening human development crisis must be the centrepiece of all state reforms. Also, focusing on the social sectors as a primary investment and not an afterthought and recognising that sound health, nutrition and environment are fundamental to development and sustainability of economic growth.

The 10-point agenda put forward by the previously mentioned framework for action for climate-resilient health systems provides a robust roadmap. As a precondition though, a paradigm shift is required to promote intersectoral action. The prime minister must establish and lead a broad-based ministerial committee on health and climate change. The committee should appropriate top experts from the water, education, health, climate, and energy sectors. This group should regularly monitor the implementation of the action points of the framework: leadership and governance; health workforce; vulnerability capacity and adaptation assessments; integrated risk monitoring and early warning; health and climate res­earch; climate-resilient sustainable technologies and infrastructures; management of environmental determinants of health; climate-informed health programmes, emergency preparedness and disaster-risk management; and climate and health finance.

Pakistan’s Nationally Determined Contribu­tions commitments include the need to address vector-borne diseases, nutrition, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases due to deteriorating air quality, heatwaves, injuries from extreme weather events, wildfires, and damage to the healthcare infrastructure. These health threats are identified as critical areas requiring priority actions to mitigate the impacts of climate change on public health.

It’s time for the new government to recognise that the Paris Agreement’s emphasis on public health underscores the linkages between climate change and human well-being. It underscores the significance of addressing health concerns within the framework of climate action. Our NDC commitment and downstream action must be the centrepiece of policy and must not await suo motu notices by the Supreme Court.

The writers have jointly authored this article on behalf of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, a UN-associated national civil society platform in Pakistan with a focus on health and climate change-related SDGs.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2024

Security pledges for workers as CPEC set to expand

Khaleeq Kiani 

Published March 23, 2024
DAWN

MINISTER for Planning Ahsan Iqbal holds a meeting with the Chinese ambassador

 to Pakistan, Jiang Zaidong, in Islamabad.—PPI


ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday assured Chinese workers of top-level security as it pushed for the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) through the launch of five special industrial zones.

At a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Jiang Zaidong, Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal assured the Chinese side that Pakistan had made significant efforts to safeguard the security of Chinese workers and would further implement top-level security measures for Chinese personnel.

He said security was a prerequisite for development, and Pakistan acknowledged the full recognition of CPEC construction and security risks. However, these risks would not disrupt work on CPEC projects, he added.

The two sides agreed to intensify efforts to establish a new working group on five new economic corridors under the second phase, aligning with the Five Es framework — export, energy, equity, environment and e-Pakistan — already prepared by the planning ministry.

Pakistan, China to form working group on five new economic corridors under multi billion-dollar project

The Chinese ambassador congratulated Mr Iqbal on assuming the role of planning minister for the fourth time.

“Both sides have agreed to expedite Phase 2 of the CPEC, while deciding to establish a working group on five new economic corridors, including the Corridor of Job Creation, Corridor of Innovation, Corridor of Green Energy, and Inclusive Regional Development,” an official statement said.

Both the planning ministry and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China will prepare separate concept papers on the new economic corridors, which will provide a clear roadmap for each sector in the future. These concept papers will be consolidated before presentation at the upcoming Joint Coordination Commi­ttee (JCC) meeting, which is expected later this year, the statement said.

The planning ministry has already initiated the implementation of the Five Es framework. This framework will be aligned with the five new economic corridors to advance Pakistan’s prosperity in each sector under the vision of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Mr Iqbal told the meeting, highlighting the importance of accelerating Pakistan’s export capabilities through enterprise development and job creation.

During the meeting, Mr Iqbal outlined a strategic approach to maximise the success of special economic zones (SEZs) within Pakistan. He proposed a “One plus Four” model, wherein each SEZ in Pakistan would be partnered with one province from China, one industry group to develop specialised clusters within these zones, one zone from China to provide technical expertise, and a state-owned enterprise to spearhead SEZ development.

Mr Iqbal said this collaborative framework would speed up establishing and growing special economic zones in Pakistan, enhancing their competitiveness and attractiveness to investors.

“The Chinese envoy appreciated Pakistan’s efforts to implement the CPEC, particularly the initiation of Phase 2,” the statement said.

Addressing Pakistan’s need to boost the efficiency of special economic zones to increase foreign exchange, the Chinese envoy suggested that officers in charge of the zones must visit Chinese industrial parks to observe firsthand the efficiency measures practised by Chinese authorities.

The minister noted that the success of special economic zones was dependent on their ability to become clusters of specific industries, fostering economies of scale and creating a vibrant ecosystem conducive to innovation and growth.

The discussions also focused on enhancing regional connectivity, emphasising critical infrastructure projects like the Gwadar Port and the M-8 motorway, which will strengthen trade links and facilitate regional integration.

Mr Iqbal also appreciated Chinese assistance in helping Pakistan develop its exports and conceded that Pakistan’s current challenge was to determine how quickly it could build its exports through earned foreign exch­ange, not borrowed money.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2024

Breakthrough Catalyst Turns Sewage Into Clean Energy

By Brian Westenhaus - Mar 19, 2024

• Researchers created a catalyst that purifies sewage and produces hydrogen fuel simultaneously.
• 
  
• This innovation could make sewage treatment more economical by generating a valuable product.
• 
  
• The technology has the potential to improve efficiency in industrial hydrogen production.

Pohang University of Science & Technology scientists have developed a catalyst for the urea oxidation reaction, enhancing hydrogen generation efficiency. Professor Kangwoo Cho and PhD candidate Jiseon Kim from the Division of Environmental Science & Engineering at Pohang University (POSTECH) collaborated with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) to devise a novel catalyst aimed at enhancing the efficiency of reactions using contaminated municipal sewage to produce hydrogen — a noteworthy green energy source.

The research has been recently featured in the international journal Advanced Functional Materials.

Schematic Depicting the catalytic reaction devised by the team that catalyzes the urea oxidation reaction to assist the water electrolysis reaction. Image Credit: Pohang University of Science & Technology. For more images click the press release link here. For a bit more info try the abstract or purchase the study paper.

With the growing environmental concerns of pollution associated with fossil fuel, hydrogen has garnered increased interest. Water electrolysis technology is a known sustainable process that leverages Earth’s abundant water to produce hydrogen.

However, the concurrent oxygen evolution reaction during hydrogen production is notably slow, resulting in a considerably low energy conversion efficiency.

But lately, the academic community has been tackling this issue by integrating the urea oxidation reaction with the hydrogen generation reaction.

Urea, is a pollutant found in urine, that releases a significant amount of energy during its oxidation process, offering a potential means to enhance both the efficiency of hydrogen generation and the purification of toilet wastewater.

That made it necessary to find a catalyst that can effectively drive the urea oxidation reaction, thereby amplifying the efficiency of both hydrogen generation and wastewater treatment.

In pursuit of increased efficiency in the urea oxidation reaction, the team created a catalyst known as nickel-iron-oxalate (O-NFF). This catalyst combines iron (Fe) and oxalate on nickel (Ni) metal, resulting in an expansive surface area characterized by nanometer-sized particles in fragment form.

This unique property enables the catalyst to adsorb more reactants, facilitating an accelerated urea oxidation reaction.

In experiments, the O-NFF catalyst devised by the team successfully lowered the voltage required for hydrogen generation to 1.47 V RHE (at 0.5 A/cm2) (Reversible Hydrogen Electrode
refers to a standard hydrogen electrode, representing a potential of 0V in the standard state—an equilibrium between hydrogen gas and liquid hydrogen) and exhibited a high reaction rate even when tested in a mixed solution of potassium hydroxide (1 M) and urea (0.33 M) with a Tafel slope of 12.1 mV/dec (The rate of electrochemical reaction; a lower value indicates greater catalyst activity).

The researchers further validated the catalyst’s efficacy by confirming its promotion of the urea oxidation reaction through photoelectron/X-ray absorption spectroscopy using a radiation photo accelerator.

Professor Kangwoo Cho who led the research commented, “We have developed a catalyst capable of purifying municipal sewage while simultaneously enhancing the efficiency of hydrogen production, a green energy source.”

He added, “We anticipate that O-NFF catalysts, synthesized from metals and organics, will contribute to the improved efficiency of industrial electrolysis hydrogen production.”

The research was sponsored by the Mid-Career Researcher Program and the Hydrogen Source Technology Development Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea, and the National Supercomputing Center.

**

This is very interesting indeed. The catalyst would offer another revenue stream from treating sewage by yielding a commercial product. There is also the water reduction effect, the hydrogen out the oxygen freed cuts down on the total volume.

The rest of the sewage stream is rich in potassium and phosphorus. Two very important food production fertilizers that are getting increasingly expensive to agriculture.

Then there is the paper-based wood pulp that could be recycled.

The catch in all this is the bacterial and viral loads plus the food particles coming along with the water and those useful chemicals.

Its important to keep working at getting these elements in an economically self-supporting total recycling system. We’re not there quite yet. But it’s a very worthy goal that deserves a continuous push until the profits in sewage can returned to the economy.

By Brian Westenhaus via New Energy and Fuel

 

UK Plans £60 Billion Grid Overhaul To Support Offshore Wind Boom

By City A.M - Mar 19, 2024

• The National Grid's "Beyond 2030" plan proposes a £60 billion investment to overhaul the UK's electricity network for offshore wind power.
• 
  
• The ambitious plan aims to achieve 86GW of offshore wind by 2035, surpassing the world's current total capacity.
• 
  
• Thousands of miles of cables will be laid, with a potential "electrical spine" to transport wind power across the country, while minimizing the need for pylons.

Pylon-haters beware – the National Grid has unveiled a multi-billion pound plan to overhaul the UK’s energy and electricity framework.

The ‘Beyond 2030’ report outlines the need for a £60bn injection to fortify the UK’s embattled offshore wind sector and how it can be used to power the country.

It sets out an ambitious target of 86GW of offshore wind by 2035 – more than exists today in the world as a whole.

For many, this will mean using electricity generated from the current and planned stock of wind farms off the coast of Scotland, which could reach 30GW of total generative power – 8GW more than the UK has currently.

This will be achieved through the laying of thousands of miles of cables to transport power generated from the wind farm centres to where people live, through the use of offshore “bootstraps” down the East Coast.

Additionally, an “electrical spine” could be created to transport this power travelling down from Aberdeenshire and the North Sea to Merseyside, though the ESO said this was very much an “early-stage option which will require further consideration and consultation.”

Adam Bell, director of policy at think tank Stonehaven and former head of strategy at the government’s Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department, told City A.M. it’s an “unavoidable truth” that bold reforms needed to be made and for good this time.

“It’s going to be a mammoth undertaking and another round of the latest infrastructure war that the government has fought with itself many times,” he said.

The National Grid said that the Beyond 2030 network design “efficiently” uses the seabed to reduce the footprint of offshore cabling connecting to shore by a third and reducing the need for offshore infrastructure such as pylons.

In practise, this means around 560 miles of upgrades to the existing undersea cable network, as well as entirely new 2369 mile and 994 mile offshore and onshore networks, the latter of which could be either overhead or underground.

But although there may be fewer pylons blotting the landscape of areas which have campaigned against them, such as East Anglia, the National Grid’s proposals create problems for different areas in the same vein, such as the east coast of Scotland, the North West of Manchester into Cumbria.

“You can describe them as knights in shining armour as much as you want but people are still going to be upset,” Bell added.

The reforms will be a much-welcomed first step to try and revolutionise a system that has been mired in slow progress for decades creating, among other issues, a jammed renewable energy development pipeline.

As of February last year it was estimated that around 200GW of capacity from offshore wind projects awaited a grid connection with some developers being warned of 13-year wait time

Fintan Slye, executive director of ESO said: “Great Britain’s electricity system is the backbone of our economy and must be fit for our future. ESO’s Beyond 2030 network design outlines recommendations on the investment needed and how and where to coordinate the build of this new critical national infrastructure.

“To deliver the clean, secure, de-carbonised system set out by Government and Devolved Governments we must take swift, coordinated and lasting action working collaboratively across all parts of the energy sector, government, the regulator and within our communities.”

By CityAM 

 

Exxon Is Sure It Has Right Of First Refusal In Spat Over Guyana Oil Assets

By Julianne Geiger - Mar 22, 2024

Exxon has “strong feelings” that it is right in its view of the right-of-first-refusal provision in its spat over oil assets in Guyana, Exxon Senior Vice President Jack Williams told Bloomberg on Friday—in part because it wrote the contract governing the project.

Exxon has accused Chevron of trying to get around the right of first refusal provision by merging with Hess Corp—a deal that would hand Chevron Hess’s 30% stake. Chevron has argued that the right of first refusal doesn’t apply to mergers.

Hess and Exxon—and China’s CNOOC, which has also moved to arbitrate the deal against Chevron—have a joint operating agreement that dictates the terms for all consortium members.

Exxon said the dispute will make for an “interesting arbitration”, but pointed out that since they wrote the provision themselves, they’re pretty sure they know the intent behind it.

Exxon balked after Chevron announced it would merge with Hess, arguing that it was owed a chance to purchase its JV partner’s mouthwatering stake in the Guyana deepwater oil block known as Stabroek. Exxon did say, however, that it was not interested in purchasing Hess as a whole—just that it wanted to establish rights over Hess’s assets in Guyana specifically.

Exxon currently operates and owns 45% of the block.

The arbitration case against Chevron could last as many as 6 months. “We have built into that contract a remedy, which is to take it to an arbitration, so we’re just going to exercise that remedy, and let an impartial panel decide who’s right, whose interpretation is right. And so we’ll just let that play out,” Williams said.

Hess, Exxon, and CNOOC announced yet another oil discovery last Friday, known as Bluefin, adding even more to the attraction of Hess’s Guyana assets. 

Russia and China Allegedly Broker Safe Passage Deal with Houthis

By ZeroHedge - Mar 23, 2024

• Bloomberg: Russia and China have sealed a deal with Iran-backed Houthis to allow their commercial vessels to transit the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden without fear of drone and or missile attacks.
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• Sources: China and Russia reached a deal with diplomats in Oman with Mohammed Abdel Salam, one of the Houthis' top political leaders.
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• In response to the Red Sea crisis, the Biden administration launched Operation Prosperity Guardian, a military operation led by the US and other allied countries to protect the critical shipping lane.

According to Bloomberg's sources, Russia and China have sealed a deal with Iran-backed Houthis to allow their commercial vessels to transit the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden without fear of drone and or missile attacks. 

One of the sources said China and Russia reached a deal with diplomats in Oman with Mohammed Abdel Salam, one of the Houthis' top political leaders. They said the safe passage of vessels is in exchange for the Houthis' political support at the United Nations Security Council. 

Bloomberg noted, "It's not entirely clear how that support would be manifested, but it could include blocking more resolutions against the group." 

Since November, Houthi rebels have repeatedly attacked vessels in the Red Sea. Rebels assert that their attacks are aimed only at ships connected to Israel, demonstrating their support for the Palestinians amid the ongoing Gaza conflict.

In response to the Red Sea crisis, the Biden administration launched Operation Prosperity Guardian, a military operation led by the US and other allied countries to protect the critical shipping lane. However, months later, the operation failed to protect ships. Furthermore, the US and UK have launched bombing raids on Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries to fight back against Iran-backed terror groups. 

"China and Russia are deepening their strategic alliance with Iranian-backed terrorists. It's a further sign of an emerging new world disorder that threatens freedom of navigation, commerce, transit, and communications," said David Asher, a senior fellow at Hudson Institute, who commented on the Bloomberg report. 

Asher continued: "No one should doubt that Putin and Xi are increasingly coordinating their moves with Tehran while the US embraces appeasement, including via releasing billions of dollars to the Iranians with no substantive result to American interests, power, and prestige."

In a recent note titled "The Weaponization Of Crude Could Trigger The Next Financial Shock," Asher warned that "Iran is preparing for an oil war—and markets ignore the growing risks." 

By Zerohedge.com