Unsustainable inequalities: social justice and the environment

Abstract

How do environmental inequalities interact with economic inequalities and social justice? Lucas Chancel ‘unpacks the intricate relationship between these pressing issues. This book demonstrates that these questions are interlinked and contends that social inequality is a driver of the inegalitarian distribution of environmental risks, which results in a vicious cycle of mutually reinforcing economic, environmental and political inequalities. Chancel compellingly argues that the goals of social justice and environmental protection are compatible if there are substantial changes in public policy. The book builds this argument in three parts. Part one examines the sources of economic inequality, highlighting how ‘levels of economic inequality endanger democracy, sicken society, harm the economy and tend to damage the environment’ (p. 14). Referencing the work of Samuel Cohn and Joseph Stiglitz, among others, Chancel effectively disproves the idea that there might be a trade-off between efficiency and equality, or the ‘leaky bucket thesis’. Through a series of examples, the author then outlines how economic inequality can worsen pollution, with an important caveat that reducing economic inequality is not necessarily good for the environment. Chapter two looks at the trends and drivers of economic inequality. Here, Chancel explores a series of factors including technological innovation, trade and financial globalization, the weakening of the social state and the role of energy. These are unpacked in a well-structured and fluent manner emphasizing the need for a concerted political response.