Environmental justice: introduction

The term ‘environmental justice’ was first coined in the USA in the 1970s and was principally concerned with the idea that people from racial and ethnic minorities lived in areas with a disproportionate environmental burden. In Scotland the concern has centred on socio-economic status rather than ethnicity, and is linked to issues of sustainable development and social justice. Further details of the way in which environmental justice has been interpreted in Scotland can be found in the 2003 report, Environmental justice in Scotland, by the Healthy Environment Network.

Apart from the obvious concern regarding the health protection of the whole population, the link between environmental justice and public health relates to the role of the environment in the widening health inequalities observed in the Scottish population. Direct influences include proximity to toxic, allergenic or infectious emissions from industry, while indirect influences might comprise environmental influence on behaviour (e.g. availability of a local environment in which to walk or cycle) and on stress levels - and, therefore, on mental health (which itself may translate to physical health).

In terms of the policy context, environmental justice is relevant to areas such as strategic environmental assessment, sustainable development, social justice and inequalities – improving the quality of the local environment in the most deprived areas forms part of one of the Scottish Executive’s 'Closing the Opportunity Gap' inequality targets.