Environmental Justice in a Changing Climate - Panel discussion

The environmental justice movement is a response to the idea and evidence that pollution can have disproportionate impacts on particular populations, sometimes minority or low-income populations. These inequities can in turn produce significant public health outcome disparities across populations as well, disparities which create policymaking challenges. The available policy tools for resolving environmental inequities are often implemented at a national level, while more local flexibility is needed. There are also a range of measurement and causality issues which then produce high levels of contestation, with competing sides engaging in “claim making” about the relationship between pollution, its distributive impacts and public health. At the same time, impacts of climate change, such as fire danger, flooding and more severe storms, have the potential to exacerbate these distributive effects.

This panel discussion will bring together four experts on environmental law, policy and the associated distributive impacts. The discussion will revolve around environmental inequity causes and effects, public participation, the ability to manage natural hazards and Brexit’s environmental impact, among other issues. The discussion will be chaired by Dr. Colin Provost, University College London.

Panel members:

• Professor Maria Lee - University College London
• Professor Gordon Walker - Lancaster University
• Dr. Brian Gerber - Arizona State University