Abstract
The rapid growth of human population and associated industrialisation creates strains on resources and climate. One way to understand the impact of human activity is to quantify the total environmental pressures by measuring the ‘footprint’. Footprints account for the total direct and/or indirect effects of a product or a consumption activity, which may be related to e.g. carbon, water or land use, and can be seen as a proxy for environmental responsibility. Footprints shape climate and resource debates, especially concerning environmental strategies. However, in general, footprints hold a dichotomous producer–consumer perspective that is not unanimously accepted. In addition, the current footprinting system transmits a simplistic message about environmental responsibility that taints the justice debate and jeopardises the validity of policies based on them. Consequently, it is crucial to question who is (and should be) accountable for adverse environmental effects. It is also critical to investigate how the methodological characteristics of footprints shape and affect the efficacy of policies on climate and natural resources. This article examines these challenges, focusing on negative justice and policy implications resulting from assigning environmental responsibility to a sole agent. The article proposes, and morally justifies, the development of a footprinting method that includes justice parameters in an attempt to render fair results that are more meaningful for environmental action. The second objective is to establish the potential of this new framework to promote environmental responsibility and justice while facilitating policymaking. The suggested justice elements aim at turning footprints into a concrete environmental policy instrument framed under the value of environmental fairness.
Highlights
Climate change coupled with other challenges such as the natural resource crisis creates the need for detailed information about present and future environmental scenarios
The production-based footprint F of either of the regions is given by the sum of emissions associated with production for domestic consumption, emissions associated with production for export, and emissions by final demand sectors such as government and households: Fnprod = Fndom + Fnexp + Fnfd
This article argues that environmental indicators, especially footprints, influence the way human impact on the environment is perceived
Summary
Climate change coupled with other challenges such as the natural resource crisis creates the need for detailed information about present and future environmental scenarios. The way such scenarios are created influences their results, which in turn, shape policies that affect populations and groups differently. Environmental scenarios structure policies that can create or sustain asymmetries either in terms of access to resources or in the management of climate change impacts. Environmental assessment methods should make clear who is held responsible for environmental stresses, as well as to what degree (Finnveden and Moberg 2005). By attributing environmental impacts in this way can sustainable policies be put in place, and environmental justice promoted
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