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Paper short abstract:

I examine the nuanced meanings of 'justice' from diverse perspectives, showing how these views are shaped by one's position in the social system and highlight that justice dimensions are interconnected and dynamically influenced by cultural, political, environmental, and socio-economic contexts.

Paper long abstract:

Western investors and donors frequently promote green hydrogen projects in the Global South as ‘win-win’ initiatives, promising decarbonization for the Global North and green industrialization for the Global South. However, critical scholarship has challenged this narrative, arguing that such projects risk perpetuating patterns of unequal exchange and fostering ‘green extractivism,’ while calling for a shift toward a ‘just transition.’ But what does ‘justice’ mean for those directly affected by these projects?

This paper explores subjective conceptions of a just transition in Namibia’s Hyphen Green Hydrogen project. Based on extensive empirical data—including 50 in-depth interviews and five participatory systems mapping workshops with stakeholders such as Hyphen, the Namibian government, civil society, traditional authorities, and local communities—the study identifies four counter-narratives that challenge the dominant ‘win-win’ discourse.

Adopting an understanding of justice as perception, informed by the psychology of justice literature, the analysis employs an integrated framework rooted in energy and environmental justice scholarship to map the justice dimensions relevant to diverse stakeholders. This approach is further enhanced by Systems Thinking, which moves beyond siloed perspectives by examining justice dimensions as dynamic and interconnected systems shaped by cultural, political, environmental, and socio-economic contexts.

By doing so, this study transcends the binary framing of ‘win-win’ versus ‘green extractivism,’ highlighting the multiplicity of ‘just transitions’ and providing a nuanced analysis of the tensions and opportunities embedded in green hydrogen projects. It underscores the importance of bottom-up, context-sensitive strategies to advance just transitions in the Global South.