ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: DISCOURSES IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY

Volume 8 of Transaction Publishers ‘Energy and Environmental Policy Series’ (the series is under the editorial direction of CEEP) challenges our understanding of environmental justice (EJ) in a global context. This edited volume includes theoretical investigations and case studies by leading scholars in the field of EJ. The series of articles in this publication demonstrates that environmental justice cannot be reduced to simple parables of indifference, prejudice or appropriation. It forges an understanding of EJ as a development of international political economy itself. Contributors include: Wolfgang Sachs, Daniel Faber, Anil Agarwal and Sunita Narain.

EQUITY ANALYSES OF UN CLIMATE CHANGE NEGOTIATIONS

CEEP has participated as an observer organization since 1992 in the UN-sponsored process for negotiation and implementation of climate change response policies. Throughout more than 10 years of its participation in this process, CEEP has been guided by an equity- and sustainability-based approach that would require substantial domestic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by Northern countries over the next 50 years. Its position is published in the following Publications (among others):
Can Cities Sustain Life in the Greenhouse?" 2006. J. Byrne, K. Hughes, N. Toly and Y-D. Wang. Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society, Vol. 26, No. 2. Pp. 84-95.

"Island Bellwether: Climate Change and Energy Policy Strategy for Small Island Developing States."2005. J. Byrne, L. Glover, V. Inniss and G. Alleng. Global Forum Towards Mauritius 2005 Paper Series No. 2005-2. UNEP/GPA and the Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts, and Islands.

"Reclaiming the Atmospheric Commons: Beyond Kyoto."2004. John Byrne, Leigh Glover, et al. In V. Grover, ed. Climate Change: Five Years after Kyoto. Enfield, NH: Science Publishers. Pp. 429-452.

"Greenhouse Justice: Moving Beyond Kyoto." 2002. John Byrne, Leigh Glover, Vernese Innis, Jyoti Kulkarni, Yu Mi Mun, Noah Toly and Young-Doo Wang. Position paper prepared for the Eighth Session of the Conference of Parties (COP-8), held in New Delhi, India to negotiate implementation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Newark, DE: Center for Energy and Environmental Policy, University of Delaware.

“Climate Shopping: Putting the Atmosphere Up for Sale.” 2000. John Byrne and Leigh Glover. TELA: Environment, Economy and Society Series: 28 pp. Melbourne, Australia: Australian Conservation Foundation.

“An Equity- and Sustainability-Based Policy Response to Global Climate Change.” John Byrne, Young-Doo Wang, Hoesung Lee and Jong-dall Kim. 1998. Energy Policy.Vol. 26, No. 4: 335-343.

"An Equity- and Sustainability-Based Policy Response to Global Climate Change."1998. John Byrne, Young-Doo Wang, Hoesung Lee and Jong-dall Kim. Energy Policy. Vol. 26, No. 4: 335-343.

MINNESOTA ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PROJECT

This collaborative effort joins CEEP with three Minnesota-based organizations – Women’s Environmental Institute, the North American Water Office and the Indigenous People’s Task Force. The purpose of the project is to research and document data on pollutants and toxic emissions of selected Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) communities, facilitate an organizing and advocacy network to address remediation, and develop community-based educational materials for citizens participating in environmental policy debates.

UHELP COMMUNITY-BASED STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS

The US EPA has awarded a multi-year grant to the Urban Health and Environment Learning Project (UHELP) to organize community outreach and interventions in two urban communities in Delaware, in order to address high asthma rates and high risks of elevated arsenic blood levels among children. CEEP is a founding member of UHELP (see http://www.urbanhelp.org/). It is responsible for analyzing data from household surveys to evaluate the impact of the outreach and intervention activities of the project. A community-focused publication of our collaborative approach is available at:
2006_ej_UHELP_response_community_health_environment_needs.pdf

URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER ASSISTANCE PROJECT

CEEP has been working for several years with the Urban Environmental Center to address environmental justice issues in the Greater Wilmington area. Activities have included: 1.) assisting the UEC in obtaining an EPA grant to increase community awareness of brownfield hazards in the city; 2.) researching a brownfield site adjacent to the UEC; 3.) preparing informational material on Wilmington’s brownfields; and 4.) developing an after-school program for 6th and 7th graders, focusing on environmental issues.