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

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

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

In Limpopo, the community’s experience with Anglo American Platinum, the world’s most profitable platinum mine, encapsulates the reality of mining in South Africa: a cycle of community poverty, deepened by contempt businesses for fundamental rights and sustainable development.

Promises of jobs and infrastructure development have materialized only sporadically, if at all, leaving communities facing displacement, pollution, disease, poverty and extreme water scarcity.

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This has disproportionately affected women, who subsidize the mining industry through unpaid reproductive social work – taking on water collection, caregiving and other tasks essential to household survival and of work in the conditions created by mining.

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

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

The community faces the possibility of history repeating itself, with corporate and global North interests reaping rewards and profits, while communities bear the environmental and social costs.

Mining-affected communities in Mokopane have long struggled with the consequences of mining, from forced displacement to severe resettlement to polluted waters.

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

Attempts to require free, prior and informed consent are often ignored, and licensing requirements for social and labor plans imposed on mining companies have mostly failed to deliver the promised improvements.

It is women in the community who bear much of the burden, taking on unpaid reproductive social work while their rights and work remain invisible and undervalued.

The “just transition” should be exactly that: a change that not only addresses climate change, but also corrects historical injustices, returning power to those who suffered most from the extractive system of colonial apartheid.

For the residents of Mokopane, a transition that widens inequalities and worsens conditions cannot be just; it becomes another example of blatant injustice that requires them to sacrifice once again for an energy system that could leave them behind.

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The real beneficiaries of green hydrogen appear to be mining companies like Anglo American and the rich countries of the North. The costs of environmental degradation and increased economic marginalization are instead passed on to poorer communities.

As the Global North celebrates reducing its carbon footprint, the reality on the ground in Mokopane could be worsening water shortages, environmental damage and economic inequality that spans generations.

If left unchecked, green hydrogen could very well become the latest iteration of extractive colonialism, funneling South Africa’s resources to global markets while impoverishing communities living nearby.

A fair and sustainable energy future for South Africa requires mining companies to be held accountable and seriously committed to meeting the needs of local communities.

A truly just energy transition must respect the agency and rights of marginalized communities affected by mining. Communities affected by mining must be at the heart of discussions on the energy transition.

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