Energy justice in the EU renewable hydrogen economy: Participation of the vulnerable in hydrogen decisions

Unequal societies lead to unequal outcomes in the distribution of opportunities and decision-making power, creating a sociological divide between the privileged and the underprivileged. In times of socio-technical transformations such as that of the EU's hydrogen energy transition inequalities may reproduce. The energy justice discourse looks after resolving the inequalities arising within energy transitions through a circular process where questions such as who is at stake in the transition, how to involve them in shaping the transition, and how the costs and benefits should be equitably distributed become central in the transition dialogues. While EU policy poses significant efforts towards transitioning to hydrogen technologies, its legal framework should, on the basis of the EU values of equality and democracy, safeguard that an EU hydrogen economy is a project that takes everyone into account to decide how this transition should look. This book chapter focuses on the recognitional and procedural justice of the hydrogen transition by analysing the extent to which the EU's lex generalis and specialis for public participation involve the vulnerable in hydrogen decisions through equity-based approaches. The book chapter finds that while the general framework set under the Aarhus Convention sets an egalitarian “one-size-fits-all” approach, the special framework for hydrogen public participation begins to adopt more inclusiveness-oriented approaches.