The Principle of Political Equality in Environmental Justice

Environmental Justice is ensuring a quality of life for all regardless of race, ethnicity or social class, and leaving enough natural resources for future generations. Everyone should have a safe and healthy place to live, work, and play, irrespective of the country they live in. Environmental injustice occurs on a global scale. The Global South and Africa in particular are most affected and likely to feel weather effects through droughts and floods.

These climate changes are caused to a large extent by emerging global powers and economies in the Global North that emit greenhouse gases, which is a major contributor to Climate Change. The Principle of Prima Facie Political Equality (PPFPE) is indispensable when it comes to addressing Environmental Justice issues. The Principle of Prima Facie Political Equality requires a distributive and participative justice approach in dealing with environmental issues.

Distributive justice is the notion of equal sharing or distribution of environmental harms or effects, whereas, participative justice involves a participatory process, whereby all interested and affected stakeholders are given the opportunity to express their concerns at the decision-making table.
Environmental injustice is an issue that threatens the lives of millions in the Global South and it needs to be at the forefront of the global agenda if progress is to be achieved.

While the topic is broad, a resolution can be selected that both challenges optimists to develop creative solutions and provides pessimists with a legitimate debatable ground.