Just transition or greenwashing? The truth about green hydrogen

As the idea of a green hydrogen-powered economy gains traction globally, a report, Hyped Hydrogen: Hidden Harm, co-authored by Macua/Wamua, (Mining Affected Communities United in Action/Women Affected by Mining United in Action) / ActionAid Netherlands, and Somo (the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations), raises urgent concerns about hidden costs this industry may impose on mining-affected communities.

For communities like those in Mokopane, where platinum mining has devastated livelihoods, health and access to water, green hydrogen energy projects could be another Trojan horse.

Promising clean energy, it risks perpetuating and deepening exploitation under the banner of sustainability – leaving those on the front lines of mineral extraction to bear the brunt.

In Limpopo, the community’s experience with Anglo American Platinum, the most profitable platinum mine in the world, encapsulates the reality of mineral extraction in South Africa: a cycle of poverty for the community, deepened by corporate disregard for basic rights and sustainable development.

Promises of jobs and infrastructure development have materialised only sporadically, if at all, leaving communities to contend with displacement, pollution, sickness, poverty and extreme water scarcity.

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This has disproportionately affected women, who subsidise the mining industry through unpaid social reproductive labour – taking on water collection, care work and other tasks essential to households and labour survival under conditions created by mining.

Despite this struggle, affected communities remain excluded from discussions about green hydrogen and South Africa’s energy transition.

With platinum being a key component of green hydrogen production, Mokopane risks once again becoming a hotspot for resource exploitation without meaningful engagement or benefit.

What the community face is the possibility that history will repeat itself, with corporate and global north interests reaping rewards and profits, while communities shoulder the environmental and social costs.

Mining-affected communities in Mokopane have a long history of fighting against the consequences of mineral extraction, from forced displacements, grave relocations to polluted water.

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Despite South Africa recognising the constitutional rights of communities to clean water and land, Mokopane residents struggle to access even the basics, as mining companies extract resources.

Attempts to demand free, prior, and informed consent are often ignored, and social and labour plan licence requirements of mining companies have mostly failed to deliver promised improvements.

It is the women in community who carry much of the burden, shouldering unpaid social reproductive work while their rights and labour remain invisible and undervalued.

The “just transition” should be exactly that – a shift that not only addresses climate change, but also corrects historical injustices, giving back power to those who have suffered most under the extractive system of colonial apartheid.

For Mokopane residents, a transition that deepens inequalities and worsens conditions cannot be just; it becomes another instance of gross injustice that asks them to sacrifice yet again, for an energy system that may leave them behind.

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The true beneficiaries of green hydrogen seem to be mining corporations like Anglo American and wealthy Northern nations. The costs of environmental degradation and further economic marginalisation are instead shifted onto the poorest communities.

As northern countries celebrate reduced carbon footprints, the reality on the ground in Mokopane may be deepening water shortages, environmental harm and economic inequities that stretch across generations.

Left unchecked, green hydrogen could very well become the latest iteration of extractive colonialism, funnelling South Africa’s resources into global markets while impoverishing the communities living near them.

A just and sustainable energy future for South Africa demands accountability from mining corporations and a serious commitment to the needs of local communities.

A truly just energy transition must respect the agency and rights of marginalised mining-affected communities. Mining-affected communities must be at the heart of energy transition discussions.

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Their water, land, health, and wealth are not expendable.