Environmental Justice and Social Equity

Environmental justice and social equity examine how environmental benefits and burdens are distributed across diverse populations and how decision-making processes affect the well-being of marginalised groups. This field integrates principles of fairness, recognition and participation, drawing attention to the ways in which historical inequities, power imbalances and systemic discrimination influence exposure to pollution, access to natural resources and resilience to climate impacts. Research in this area addresses urban and rural contexts globally, ranging from industrial pollution in low-income neighbourhoods to land rights for Indigenous peoples. Emphasis is placed on both procedural dimensions—ensuring inclusive governance—and distributive outcomes—achieving equitable allocation of environmental goods and harms. In parallel, the concept of social equity underscores the need for policies that account for socioeconomic gradients and cultural diversity, promoting restorative measures to redress past harms and ensure future sustainability. Interdisciplinary approaches, combining social science, policy analysis and community engagement, have advanced understanding of how coalitions of activists, institutions and researchers can collaborate to pursue both immediate relief and long-term transformation. Practical applications include participatory mapping of pollution hotspots, legal strategies to enforce environmental standards and frameworks for a just transition to cleaner energy systems that protect vulnerable workers and communities.

Research from Nature Portfolio

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Environmental Justice and Social Equity publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in environmental justice and social equity across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Environmental justice: The principle that all communities deserve equal protection from environmental hazards and equitable access to environmental benefits.

Social equity: The fair distribution of resources, opportunities and decision-making authority across society, taking into account historical and social disadvantages.

Just transition: A framework for shifting to a low-carbon economy that protects the rights, livelihoods and well-being of workers and communities affected by energy and industrial changes.

Distributive justice: The fair allocation of environmental goods (such as clean air and water) and burdens (such as pollution) among different social groups.

Procedural justice: The fairness and inclusivity of processes by which environmental decisions are made, ensuring meaningful participation for all stakeholders.

Recognition justice: The acknowledgement and respect of diverse cultural identities, histories and knowledge systems in environmental policymaking.

Restorative justice: Measures aimed at redressing past environmental injustices through remediation, compensation or policy reform.

Cosmopolitan justice: The idea that all individuals, regardless of nationality, are entitled to shared responsibility and equitable governance of global environmental resources.

Energy justice: The application of justice principles to energy systems, focusing on fair access to energy services, inclusive governance and equitable outcomes.

References

1. Resolving energy policy failure: Introducing energy justice as the solution to achieve a just transition. Energy Policy (2024).
2. Are social justice and sustainability interdependent? If so, how and under what conditions?. Sustainable Development (2024).
3. Environmental Justice and Transformations to Sustainability. Environment Science and Policy for Sustainable Development (2020).