The Case for Hydrogen in the Global South: Enhancing Legal Pluralism

This contribution explores the meanings of low-carbon innovation emerging from the interaction between legal and non-legal domains. The main argument is that a comparative perspective helps gain a better understanding of interlinked innovation processes. The hydrogen sector is chosen to observe the early development of a new global market in which the interactions between the Global North and the Global South will shape technological choices. The hydrogen strategies in Namibia, South Africa and Brazil are analysed to clarify the impact of three legal dimensions: legal pluralism, adoption or rejection of Western approaches to low-carbon innovation, meanings of hydrogen justice. The main conclusion is that hydrogen investments will be mired in a situation of deep uncertainty until these three legal dimensions are addressed to identify contextualized meanings of low-carbon innovations.