By Stephanie Borchardt
On 3 March 2026, I attended and presented at the Green Hydrogen South–South Dialogue from Below, held at the NUST Hotel School in Windhoek, Namibia. The event brought together researchers, activists, civil society organisations, community representatives, and policy actors from across the Global South to discuss the social, political, and justice dimensions of emerging green hydrogen economies. Organised by the African Studies Centre of Leiden University in collaboration with the INCLUDE Knowledge Platform, the dialogue aimed to foster South–South knowledge exchange and comparative discussion on the governance challenges associated with large-scale hydrogen development.
The full-day event created space for participants from Namibia, South Africa, Brazil, Chile, and Colombia to share experiences of how green hydrogen projects are unfolding in their respective contexts. Many of these countries are central to Global North hydrogen import strategies, making the dialogue an important opportunity to reflect on the broader political, social, and environmental implications of the rapidly expanding hydrogen sector.
The programme included discussions on civil society mobilisation around hydrogen projects, the role of Indigenous and traditional communities, human rights and legal action, and the role of research and knowledge production in shaping hydrogen governance. Across these conversations, participants emphasised the importance of meaningful community participation in hydrogen development, most notably through the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). Several speakers noted that consultation processes often remain procedural, providing limited opportunities for communities to meaningfully influence decision-making.
Knowledge for whom? Researching green hydrogen at the intersection of policy, industry, and society Panel. Photograph: Steven Robins
I participated in the session titled “Knowledge for whom? Researching green hydrogen at the intersection of policy, industry, and society.” My presentation drew on insights from the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) conducted by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for the proposed Boegoebaai Green Hydrogen Complex, Port and Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in South Africa’s Northern Cape province. The presentation introduced the SEA process and reflected on concerns raised during public engagement and online dialogue sessions conducted as part of the assessment.
The SEA evaluates the environmental, social, institutional, and macro-economic implications of the proposed Boegoebaai green hydrogen complex, a key component of South Africa’s export-oriented hydrogen strategy. Given the scale of the planned infrastructure, including renewable energy generation, port development, desalination, and related industry, the SEA provides a framework for assessing cumulative impacts and governance challenges.
Across the dialogue, participants repeatedly raised questions about the distribution of benefits and risks associated with hydrogen economies, particularly in regions where infrastructure is primarily developed to serve export markets. These exchanges highlighted common challenges across countries pursuing hydrogen development and reinforced the importance of integrating justice (procedural, distribution and recognitional), governance, and socio-economic considerations into energy transition planning.
Graph: The three dimensions of Social Justice – Distributive, Procedural, and Recognition Dimensions
Overall, the dialogue demonstrated that while green hydrogen is increasingly promoted as a pathway for decarbonisation and economic growth, its implementation raises important questions about governance, equity, and local participation.