UC Berkeley

Environmental justice often is seen as an issue of righting disparities in the exposures of low-income communities and communities of color to toxic hazards, air pollution, and other disamenities. An intriguing new wave of research finds that when environmental costs and benefits are unequally distributed, this can diminish the collective will to address the commons and hence worsen environmental conditions overall. While more studies are needed, this suggests that centering equity can be beneficial to policies and movements for sustainability.