Renewable hydrogen features in policies to reduce emissions from hard-to-abate sectors. Infrastructure will be needed to support such widespread hydrogen use, which requires an extensive decision-making chain. Public participation in this chain is key to ensuring infrastructure deployment is just, but knowledge of how and when to involve the public — and how this matches with legal frameworks — is needed to ensure that this participation is effective and meaningful.
The authors suggest that closing the preference–regulation gap will require extended and more visible public participation at earlier stages of planning, when major strategic decisions are being made. Communication about how this participation has affected planning and which decisions are still open to further input is also needed.
