Environmental Justice
Core idea: Environmental justice means everyone has the right to a safe, healthy environment and fair access to resources, no matter who they are or where they live.
Why environmental justice matters
- Not everyone has equal access to food, water, energy, and housing
- Inequalities are linked to income, race, gender, and social background
- Some groups face more pollution and environmental damage than others
- Environmental harm often affects the poorest communities the most
Environmental justice is about fairness — who benefits, and who pays the price?
Economic inequality and feedback loops
Economic inequality means wealth and opportunities are unevenly distributed.
- People with more money can invest and earn even more
- People with less money struggle to meet basic needs
- This creates a positive (reinforcing) feedback loop
- Inequality increases over time unless something changes
In exams, link inequality to reinforcing feedback loops that make problems worse over time.
Power, politics, and regulation
- Wealthy individuals and large companies often have political influence
- They may lobby governments to protect their interests
- This can weaken environmental protection laws
- This process is called regulatory capture
When economic power shapes laws, environmental damage can continue even when risks are well known.
Access to basic resources
Environmental justice also focuses on whether people can meet their basic needs.
- Some people lack clean water, food, energy, or housing
- High prices can make essential goods unaffordable
- Markets alone do not always protect vulnerable groups
- Communities may depend on government or social support
Environmental justice at different scales
- Individual → daily choices and behaviour
- Community → local pollution and access to services
- National → laws, taxes, and social support systems
- Global → climate change and unequal impacts between countries
Environmental justice applies from the local to the global scale.
Exam-ready ideas to remember
- Environmental justice = fairness in environmental protection
- Inequality increases vulnerability to environmental harm
- Economic systems can reinforce inequality
- Fair policies should protect the most vulnerable
- Sustainability and environmental justice are closely linked
Always connect environmental justice to inequality, access to resources, and long-term sustainability.
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IB-style question — environmental justice
Using a named example, explain how a lack of environmental justice can affect a community. [4]
How to answer it, step by step
- Define it
• everyone's right to a safe environment regardless of race, income or nationality
• 'lack of justice' = some groups bear harm others avoid - Named example → cause → effect
• e.g. low-income area next to a polluting factory
• community suffers health harm but gains little of the benefit → clear inequality
Final answer
Full marks = definition + named example + unfair cause→effect. 'Pollution is bad' without the justice/inequality angle does not score.