Energy and Environmental Justice: Closing the Gap

Abstract

Abstract

Energy supply is a necessary condition for economic and human development, and hence its expansion especially for those who still do not have secure access to it is an important development goal. However, severe environmental injustices exist along the energy supply chain worldwide, and these injustices have not been tackled yet in a satisfying manner. The general increase of energy supply is frequently used as an argument to justify such injustices. The hegemonic discourse of sustainability, largely focused on intergenerational and often overlooking intragenerational justice, has not incorporated this issue so far, nor has energy become a major concern of the environmental justice (EJ) community yet. This article aims at contributing to closing this gap by suggesting a qualitative method based on EJ protocols to systematically evaluate EJ in energy projects. It builds on the concept of energy justice and develops a framework to apply EJ to energy projects in practice. Furthermore, the relationship between EJ and sustainability is being discussed and relevant points for further research are proposed.