Models of justice in the environmental debate

Abstract

Justice has become important in public and private consideration of the environment, but a number of different ways of operationalizing justice can be seen. Previous literature suggests that principles stressing responsibility and the public good are more common than need and equity in thinking about environmental issues. The results from two questionnaire studies, presented here, confirm that environmental justice-responsibility to other species and to future generations, and the rights of the environment-emerges as the most highly rated consideration in resolving environmental conflicts and that this factor is distinct from traditional procedural and distributive justice factors. Highlighting the individual or the collective makes different justice principles salient but that the effect depends on one's original position.