Clean air, water, land and safe housing are part of everyone's basic human rights. But across the world, the most vulnerable people with the least power and money see these rights denied on a daily basis. For example, air pollution, the siting of hazardous installations, flooding, inadequate enforcement of environmental laws, bad urban planning, or simply not having any access to the natural environment can create environmental injustice for the poorest people. Yet, whilst they are most likely to face environmental injustice, they are least likely to be included in making the decisions that tackle these issues.

In urban areas poverty means fewer choices about environmental matters - when those in power do not listen to the poorest people, there are many negative consequences.

Capacity Global works specifically with people and communities in urban areas, who suffer most from environmental injustice, to ensure their voices get heard. We work with people on local environmental issues and work that tackles global challenges like climate change. Our work is effective because we collaborate with diverse partners and networks. We also ask questions that get to the heart of issues, and we work directly with the people that suffer the most from living in poor neighbourhoods. Because of this, Capacity Global is able to develop research, share knowledge and help provide solutions that challenge inequalities and provide resources that create healthy urban environments.

Capacity's Environmental Justice: Research Projects

A Fairer Place? Assessing Urban Environmental Equity
Sustainable Urban Environment - Metric Models and Toolkits (SUE-MOT), a consortia of academic, industrial, government and community parterns has developed a framework to help urban decision-makers examine the environmental equity implications of proposed urban developments in the UK.
Download Environmental Equality Framework

Environmental Justice Think Piece
Defra commissioned Capacity Global and the Environmental Law Foundation (ELF) to develop a think piece on Environmental Justice for their third sector strategy. The paper was published on Capacity's and Elf's website, asking for views and recommendations on the EJ Think Piece. This consultation is now closed. Thank you for your responses.
Download EJ Think Piece

Environmental Justice - Making the Links
Commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Capacity Global is working with the Centre for Sustainable Development at the University of Westminster to establish what environmental justice means to communities, policy makers and academics.  This report aims to provide policy level learning on the connections between environmental justice, social inclusion, sustainable development and equality.

Mapping Common Ground
A cross-sector workshop organised alongside the UK Environment Agency, this session facilitated a debate between academia, government, business and non-government organisations on the links between social policy and environmental issues.Download Report.

Capacity's Environmental Justice: Training

The TEN Project
Capacity's Ten project was brought about by two main objectives. First, to encourage diversity within the environment sector (built and natural).  Second, to inspire people from diverse backgrounds to work for an environmental organisation. Capacity has set about recruiting ten trainees who will receive training and gain work experience in the environment sector over a period of two to twelve months. The TEN project will track the progress of each intern, documenting the personal and organisational transformations that arise in a sector known for it’s cultural exclusivity.

Capacity's Environmental Justice: Policy and Advocacy - New

Re-launch of the Environmental Justice and Race Equality in the European Union (EJ.EU)
The report below, EJ.EU was initially launched during the European Year for Equal Opportunities in 2007. It finds that the Race Equality Directive (2000/43/EC) may present an opportunity for equality and anti-discrimination legislation to be used to legally tackle environmental injustices. The Directive bans direct and indirect discrimination on grounds of racial or ethnic origin.

The report has had an impact on environmental and equality campaigns. Based on the study, public pressure groups have begun to use equality and anti-discrimination legislation in an environmental context. Earlier this year, Hounslow Race Equality Council (Hounslow REC), represented by Gita Parihar of Friends of the Earth, challenged the government’s proposals to develop Heathrow airport. They argued that the government had failed to assess whether noise pollution from the airport would disproportionately affect the local ethnic population.

As a result, the government has produced an Equality Impact Assessment in connection with the consultations on the expansion of Heathrow Airport. The Assessment considers the potential impacts of proposals to develop the airport on groups as regards to race, gender, disability, age (specifically children and older people) as well as the impacts on low income groups.

National legislation adopted to transpose the Race Equality Directive varies significantly. But the general framework binds government authorities throughout Europe and creates enforceable rights and obligations. The report will therefore be particularly valuable for activists, lawyers and policymakers looking for new avenues to help represent the interests of people suffering environmental inequalities.

Environmental Justice in Europe - EJ.EU
This groundbreaking programme of work is designed to tackle environmental inequality by improving access to environmental justice across Europe. Environmental Justice in Europe (EJ.EU) provides a forum for information, discussion and research that encourages European Union institutions to integrate environmental equality into policy and law.  EJ.EU is currently exploring the possibility of using European ‘discrimination’ laws to improve quality of life for those communities most vulnerable to the impacts of environmental degradation. 

Capacity's Environmental Justice: Seminars

31 Jan 08: Environmental Inequalities Summit - Transdisciplinary Seminar Series
Following the environmental inequalities summit, a report is being prepared in partnership with ESRC/NERC Environmental Inequalities Seminars, the DCLG and the Environment Agency. The aim of the report is threefold. First, to set a updated context on what is happening in relation to environmental inequalities: policy, research, initiatives. Second to disseminate  the findings from the Summit in regards to climate change and green spaces and finally to provide cross sector recommendations for moving forward the environmental inequalities agenda.

Environmental Justice Activists

Capacity's Environmental Justice Activist project offers the opportunity to learn more about your rights and how to make communities and the environment a better place to live. Our next workshop: Understanding Environment, Poverty & Globalisation is in February .

Capacity's Environmental Justice Reports

Capacity Global produces a range of Environmental Jusice reports covering issues at a local, national and international level. If you would like to order a copy of a report email: resourcecentre@capacity.org.uk or you can download the reports for free from our website. PDF's use Acrobat Reader, click here to download Acrobat. 

The IoS Green List: Britain's Top 100 Environmentalists

Capacity's director - Maria Adebowale has joined many others in a first comprehensive list of the country's most effective greens, compiled by The Independent on Sunday.

Maria Adebowale, Eco-lawyer
She is credited with opening up the environmental justice agenda in Britain. Founded Capacity Global which works with the poor and minority urban communities who usually suffer most from pollution and degradation. A massive movement in the United States, it has been slow to get going here