A global environmental justice movement: mapping ecological distribution conflicts

Abstract

<jats:p>The industrial economy is not circular, it is entropic, therefore requiring new supplies of energy and materials extracted from the “commodity frontiers”, and producing polluting waste. Therefore, ecological distribution conflicts arise. The Global Atlas of Environmental Justice is an online inventory of such ecological distribution conflicts based on scholarly and activist knowledge. It reached 3200 entries by July 2020 (ejtlas.org) allowing research on such conflicts in the field of comparative, statistical political ecology. The EJAtlas is used for research but also for university teaching in the environmental social sciences and in business economics and management. It is a unique instrument co-produced with and supporting environmental movements. One can do comparative analyses on the social actors involved in the conflicts and their forms of mobilization, and also on the behaviour of private or public companies. Research may focus on countries or regions but also on cross-cultural topics such as gold and copper mining, sand mining, dams, eucalyptus or oil palm plantations, incinerators and other methods of waste disposal, coal fired power plants, gas fracking, nuclear reactors, CAFOs. Analyses are done also on the cross- cultural expressions (slogans, banners, documentaries, murals) of the conflicts gathered in the EJAtlas. The wealth of research coming from the EJAtlas gives an affirmative answer to the question: Is there a global environmental justice movement? Making old or emergent conflicts more visible contributes to placing political ecology at the centre of politics.</jats:p>

Envisioning just transformations in and beyond the EU bioeconomy: inspirations from decolonial environmental justice and degrowth

“…These socioecological and existential crises, including climate change, are increasingly recognized as a global injustice problem due to (neo)colonial and imperial relations of extraction of labour and resources in the GDP-poor countries (many of which are in the ‘Global South’) to foster economic growth in the GDP-rich countries (‘Global North’) (Hickel 2020a , b ; Hickel et al 2021 ; Martinez-Alier 2020 ). The resulting socioecological crises have disproportionately benefited and harmed different countries and regions of the world and different segments of society (genders, ethnicities, races) (Gore and Alestig 2020 ; Harcourt and Nelson 2015 ; Hickel 2020a , b ; Hickel et al 2021 ; Sultana 2021 ).…”

Socio-Ecological Controversies from Chilean and Brazilian Sustainable Energy Transitions

“…Table 1 recapitulates the main dimensions of the energy justice approach and its evaluative and normative reach, with the main target of each of them characterised by pivotal questions that act as triggering questions of this phase. In stage 1, the Atlas of Environmental Justice (EJAtlas) [10,11], an online tool based on knowledge co-production among academics and activists, provides the main renewable power projects stimulating socio-ecological conflicts in Chile and Brazil. It considers two types of projects: in operation or under construction.…”

“…Thus, it seeks to highlight a disregarded side of sustainable energy transition. Through the lens of justice in sustainable energy transition [7][8][9][10][11], we try to respond to the questions of which projects, where these conflicts emerge and the people, ecosystems, and spaces they affect.…”

Quem paga o preço? Controvérsias socioecológicas associadas à transição energética na América do Sul

“…The socioeconomic evaluation contrasted copper mining activity indicators with national social conditions. It considers copper production (1990( -2020( ), copper price (1990( -2020( ), and national GDP per capita (1970( -2020. This stage searched national (such as public ministerial information) and global databases (such as the World Bank).…”