B2 – Upper Intermediate
Recently, the world has reached an unprecedented state of destabilization as threats including global warming, wars, and material shortages grow more prevalent as we go through the 21st century. As such, nations and global superpowers have had to adapt in order to survive the chaos of our current world.
The global superpower, the EU, wants to address two major issues: economic problems and global warming. In order to do this, the leaders of the EU have begun to heavily invest in hydrogen as the fuel of the future. The EU claims that the hydrogen they produce will be enough to bring its emission rates to 0% by 2050.
But is hydrogen really the fuel of the future? Is hydrogen really the miracle gas that the leaders of the EU believe it to be?
Watch the video below to have a better understanding of how Europe plans to clean up its economy by way of clean hydrogen.
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does “to sound like a broken record” mean? “If you asked EU leaders how to save the climate in the last few years, they sounded like a broken record.” Use this expression in your own sentence.
- What does ”the champagne of energy” mean? “Hydrogen has been defined as the champagne of energy.” Make your own sentence using this phrase.
- What does ”lobby register” mean? “Corporate Europe Observatory, an NGO, combed through lobby registers.” Use this to make your own sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- What are the supposed benefits of using hydrogen as a renewable energy source?
- What are the problems with this supposed ‘miracle solution’?
- Do you think that the hydrogen strategy is worth being on EU’s top priority for subsidies and fast-track planning? Explain your insights.
- Do you believe that hydrogen will solve the economic and gas emission problems in Europe? Why do you believe your statement?
- Share what you know about and your thoughts on EU’s net zero goals by 2050.