The hidden harm of green hydrogen
Renewable energy is vital to address the climate crisis. However, generating renewable (or ‘green’) energy requires significant inputs, including minerals, land, and water. Green hydrogen is a case in point. It requires not only large amounts of other renewable energy, such as wind or solar power, but also metal, such as platinum, and water. How these resources are acquired, from whom, for whom, and under what conditions are critical questions for a just energy transition.
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Hyped hydrogen – Hidden harm (pdf, 2.35 MB)
The report Hyped hydrogen – Hidden harm by SOMO, ActionAid Netherlands(opens in new window) and MACUA/WAMUA(opens in new window) examines the emerging green hydrogen sector from a decolonising perspective. It looks at how the green hydrogen industry is developing in the EU – particularly in the Netherlands – and South Africa.
Benefits and burdens of green hydrogen not equally shared
The Netherlands has heavily invested in infrastructure to become a major hub for importing and distributing green hydrogen. South Africa plans to become a significant exporter of green hydrogen, taking advantage of its large reserves of platinum, a catalyst needed in the production process. The winners in South Africa’s green hydrogen story are likely to be big businesses, foreign investors, and countries in Europe, such as the Netherlands, that have set themselves up to import hydrogen from the Global South to fuel the North.
While governments and companies see a positive future for green hydrogen, communities around some mining sites face a very different reality. The communities of Mokopane live beside the Mogalakwena platinum mine, where mining multinational Anglo American is now also planning hydrogen production facilities. These developments risk exacerbating the harmful impacts of the mine that the people of Mokopane have faced for decades.
Justice in transition: a new way forward
The fossil fuel era was defined by a highly extractive, colonial approach to energy, one in which the Global South was primarily exporting oil, coal, and gas. A just energy transition should not replicate this model.
Yet, as this report shows, this is exactly what is happening with green hydrogen production, import and export. Global South countries are primarily suppliers of inputs; energy is produced or extracted in regions that remain in energy poverty; Global South countries are pushed to retain an export-oriented economy; and there is little consideration of the implications of Europe’s deeply unequal consumption of resources.
As the Global North transitions from fossil fuels, it must commit deeply to economic decolonisation and financial reparations for historical injustices. For the EU to realise a truly just energy transition, its green hydrogen policies must go beyond economic growth and prioritise communities and sustainable practices. This requires reducing energy and resource consumption, centring communities in decision-making, and breaking away from extractive, exploitative models.
Only by addressing these key areas can the EU foster a green hydrogen transition that is effective, just, inclusive, and genuinely sustainable.
Do you need more information?
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Ilona Hartlief
Researcher
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ActionAid Netherlands
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MACUA
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