South-South dialogue ‘from below’ on green hydrogen

From Tunis to Cape Town, Africa is being swept up by green hydrogen fever. Yet, concerns over the global push for green hydrogen arise amid prevailing patterns of green extractivism, energy colonialism, and socio-environmental injustices in the global energy transition.

To further new insights and conversations, Eric Cezne, postdoctoral researcher at the ASCL, will be organising the first South-South dialogue ‘from below’ on green hydrogen. To be held in Windhoek, Namibia, in March 2026, the workshop will bring together hydrogen-affected populations, grassroots groups, and academics from Namibia itself, South Africa, and Brazil. The three countries are central to the green hydrogen import strategies of the European Union and Dutch multinationals like the Port of Rotterdam.

Inclusive hydrogen transitions
Namibian, South African, and Brazilian participants will exchange experiences on how societies and environments across distinct Global South realities are affected when projects ‘hit the ground’, along with activist practices and pathways for more just and inclusive hydrogen transitions. The activities will include a field visit to the port town of Lüderitz, where one of Africa’s most ambitious green hydrogen projects is happening.

‘We see a lot of potential for interesting, differentiated insights with such a dialogue. And the idea is to finally put that South-South arrow on hydrogen maps, which are entirely made up today of North-South connections’, says Cezne.

Personally, as a South African-born, Mozambican-raised Brazilian national, the idea of the ‘South–South’ has been an important shaper of Eric's personal and professional trajectories, providing the inspiration to further those South-South connections.

LDE grant
An LDE Global grant from the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus alliance of universities, awarded to Eric Cezne's team, makes these activities possible. The workshop will be co-organised with John Hanna (TU Delft) and Vinzenz Bäumer Escobar (Erasmus University of Rotterdam), who have been researching the spatiality of port cities and the role of the Port of Rotterdam in energy transitions. Sarala Krishnamurthy (from Namibia’s University of Science and Technology), who has been in dialogue with the Herero and Nama communities on lands where hydrogen projects are planned to take place in Namibia, will be the local host. Stay tuned to find out about the impact this innovative workshop will have!

       Photo: Wind park in Cumbe, Ceará state, Brazil. Credit: Eric Cezne