The Messy Challenge of Environmental Justice in the UK: Evolution, Status and Prospects

The 25 Year Environment Plans recognises that “our environment underpins our wellbeing and prosperity” and that improvements in our natural environment seek to improve social justice and provide a “country that works for everyone”. Internationally the UN Sustainable Development Goal seek a sustainable future for everyone and more specifically, “including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, peace and justice”. Where we invest in our natural environment matters. The improvements may be experienced by different social groups in different ways and it is these distributional considerations and whether they are fair that Environmental Justice considers. This report reviews the Environmental Justice movement in the USA and in Europe. It reviews the evidence of environmental inequality in the UK and considers options for next steps to address the messy challenge of Environmental Justice in the UK.