Sunday 2 September 2018

Climate and social justice in Eastern and Southern Europe: The social nature of climate change | INOGOV Working Paper Series

My draft study has been published in the INOGOV Working Paper Series in September 2018. 

Abstract

I am dealing with the question of environmental and climate (in)justices in Eastern and Southern Europe in this paper. At first, I will refer to the theoretical pillars of environmental and climate justice and argue that there is an expanding sphere concerning environmentalism which has grounded the theory of climate justice. Environmental justice has expanded to include climate justice because – as will be elaborated here –the environmental justice movements increasingly argued that environmental and social conditions provide for individual and community needs, and that justice depends on environmental conditions. In the second part of this paper the connection between climate justice and social problems have been analysed. The investigation worked out here is based on a very important initiative called Environmental Justice Organizations, Liabilities and Trade (EJOLT) and its Environmental Justice Atlas. Demonstrating the social implications of climate injustice in Eastern and Southern Europe, I will focus on two main challenges related to environmental and climate injustice: the situation of the Roma communities in the region and the emerging case of fuel or energy poverty. This paper will conclude that we need to (re)enhance the social nature of environmental problems and this will strengthen the environmental consciousness in Eastern and Southern Europe. The related discourse of environmental and climate justice needs to be based on environmental identities constructed on ethnical and social solidarity.

Keywords

Climate Justice, Environmental Justice, Eastern and Southern Europe, Solidarity,
Environmental Identity

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