Recognitional and Participatory Justice in Environmental Justice Policy

Abstract

Environmental justice (EJ) movements have long relied on a three-part vision of justice: distributive, participatory, and recognitional. Although distributive principles can get the most attention, participatory and recognitional ideas of justice suffuse many core EJ statements and movement principles. They have also been challenged as less effective for policymaking by some scholars, despite being seen by others as “foundational” to effective distributive actions. Given this debate, this article asks if and when EJ advocates emphasize recognitional or participatory arguments in shaping government policies, and seeks to begin understanding the effects of these participatory and recognitional arguments. Specifically, it examines the prevalence of claims related to just participation and recognition compared with those related to distribution in a prominent recent policy process: The U.S. Justice40 Initiative. The article finds a clear focus on participatory and recognitional arguments in the Justice40 process, especially in the context of trying to build longer-term distributional changes and reducing the threat of government bias in implementing EJ policies. Despite the dramatic reversals to Justice40 in 2025, the article notes the continued relevance of these procedural and recognitional claims in EJ policymaking in practice, and their continued importance in building better and more durable EJ policies.