A perspective on radical transformations to sustainability: resistances, movements and alternatives

Abstract

A transformation to sustainability calls for radical and systemic societal shifts. Yet what this entails in practice and who the agents of this radical transformation are requires further elaboration. This article recenters the role of environmental justice movements in transformations, arguing that the systemic, multi-dimensional and intersectional approach inherent in EJ activism is uniquely placed to contribute to the realization of equitable sustainable futures. Based on a perspective of conflict as productive, and a "conflict transformation" approach that can address the root issues of ecological conflicts and promote the emergence of alternatives, we lay out a conceptual framework for understanding transformations through a power analysis that aims to confront and subvert hegemonic power relations; that is multi-dimensional and intersectional; balancing ecological concerns with social, economic, cultural and democratic spheres; and is multi-scalar, and mindful of impacts across place and space. Such a framework can help analyze and recognize the contribution of grassroots EJ movements to societal transformations to sustainability and support and aid radical transformation processes. While transitions literature tends to focus on artifacts and technologies, we suggest that a resistance-centred perspective focuses on the creation of new subjectivities, power relations, values

Ecologically unequal exchange: A theory of global environmental injustice

“…Activists, scholars, and community members have a long history of confronting environmental and social harms brought by global EUE relationships, with various degrees of success (Martinez‐Alier et al, ; Smith & Patterson, ). Some researchers in this area argue that environmental justice (EJ) groups have the potential to create transformative change (Temper, Walter, Rodriguez, Kothari, & Turhan, ). The EJ movement is multidimensional and intersectional.…”

“…Martinez‐Alier et al () discuss whether or not there is a global environmental justice movement and detail efforts to catalog ecological distribution conflicts around the world in the Atlas of Environmental Justice (EJAtlas; http://www.ejatlas.org; Hornborg & Martinez‐Alier, ; Martinez‐Alier et al, ; Scheidel, Temper, Demaria, & Martínez‐Alier, ; Temper, Demaria, Scheidel, Del Bene, & Martinez‐Alier, ; Temper, Walter, et al, ). This cataloging is an empirical effort that will allow for systematic analysis of various aspects of such conflicts and efforts to address them from the local to the global.…”

“…It addresses issues concerning both humans and other species, such as human health outcomes and biodiversity loss; it also addresses multiple interconnected dimensions of inequality, such as race, class, gender, and structural position in the global hierarchy (Malin & Ryder, 2018;Pellow, 2018). Temper, Walter, et al (2018) argue this makes EJ activism well situated to return agency to those affected by taking an approach that combines social and environmental concerns, confronts both global and local power relations, and has an awareness of impacts across space and time. www.ejatlas.org ;Hornborg & Martinez-Alier, 2016;Martinez-Alier et al, 2016;Scheidel, Temper, Demaria, & Martínez-Alier, 2018;Temper, Demaria, Scheidel, Del Bene, & Martinez-Alier, 2018;Temper, Walter, et al, 2018).…”

Learning and Teaching Through the Online Environmental Justice Atlas: From Empowering Activists to Motivating Students

“…It is born from a research stream that aims to increase the understanding of the constituents and determinants of resource extraction and waste disposal conflicts in the world within a framework of engaged research with the movements struggling for social and environmental equity (Temper, Del Bene, and Martinez‐Alier 2015; Temper et al. 2018). 2…”

Seeds of good anthropocenes: developing sustainability scenarios for Northern Europe

“…For example, the shared socioeconomic pathways explore a variety of anticipated changes in energy and land use (O'Neill et al 2014) or Millennium Ecosystem Assessment scenarios explore trends in global development or use of technology (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) 2005). However, extrapolations of trends do not capture the dynamics that can lead to their reversal, nor are they able to capture the kind of radical transformative change required for a more sustainable future (Temper et al 2018;Scoones et al 2018). For example, after decades of rise, some countries appear to have passed 'peak car use' and 'peak meat consumption' (Seppelt et al 2014).…”