Environmental citizenship

Abstract

The idea of environmental citizenship has “humble origins in a 1990s Environment Canada publication”. The environmental citizen is someone who “does their bit” for the environment. Environmental citizenship has been presented as a practical ideal by a diverse range of actors in environmental politics. The use of the term “environmental citizenship” might have become less common but the practice of environmental citizenship remains extremely important. The practical ideal of the environmental citizen is someone who is concerned about the global environment and recognizes her responsibility or duty to play her part in preventing environmental harms. The discursive use of the ideal of environmental citizenship by both state and non-state actors in the 1990s and 2000s prompted academic discussion of the concept. Kelvin Mason also proposes an account of “green citizenship” based on the experience of environmental activism.