Research on environmental justice in China: limitations and possibilities

Mah, A. and Wang, X. (2017) Research on environmental justice in China: limitations and possibilities. Chinese Journal of Environmental Law, 1, pp. 263-272. (doi: 10.1163/24686042-12340016)

Abstract

This note focuses on current sociological research being conducted in China on the concept of environmental justice. It critically reviews how the concept has been used in the Chinese context since the 1990s, evaluating some of its possibilities and limitations. We argue that environmental justice is a useful concept in the context of China, due to its resonance with environmental concepts and axes of social mobilization (particularly in relation to procedural justice and law), its capacity to address social as well as environmental issues of structural inequality together, and its resonance with shared ideas of social justice within Chinese legal traditions. However, the concept of environmental justice also has clear limitations. Practically, environmental justice has been used predominantly in the academic sphere in China, with very little take-up in civil society discussions about the environment. Conceptually, the broad and wide-ranging use of environmental justice in diverse academic research could effectively diffuse the critical capacity of the concept. We contend that attention to questions of environmental injustice, alongside justice, is particularly important for researching environmental (in)justice in China.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported by the European Research Council [grant number 639583].
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Mah, Professor Alice
• Authors: Mah, A., and Wang, X.
• Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GF Human ecology. Anthropogeography; H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General); K Law > K Law (General)
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Urban Studies
• Journal Name: Chinese Journal of Environmental Law
• Publisher: Brill
• ISSN: 2468-6034
• ISSN (Online): 2468-6042
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © Alice MAH and Xinhong WANG, 2018
• First Published: First published in Chinese Journal of Environmental Law 1:263-272
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license