Cette étude propose une revue des publications de think tanks internationaux sur la question des inégalités sociales et de l'environnement. Des conclusions sont tirées pour la recherche appliquée sur le sujet.
MESSAGES CLÉS [en anglais]
- ENVIRONMENTAL INEQUALITIES: A GROWING INTEREST FOR POLICY RESEARCH
The rise in economic inequalities and the continued pressure of human activities on the environment constitute two major challenges to policy makers in the decades to come. The definition of environmental inequalities, referring to different interactions between environment-related topics and inequality, brings both policy objectives in immediate conjunction. Environmental inequalities relate to a great variety of policy challenges, encompassing unequal access to environmental goods, different degrees of exposure to natural hazards and the question of the way in which environmental policies have diverse affects on different segments of society.
- THE POSITION OF THINK TANKS REGARDING ENVIRONMENTAL INEQUALITIES
This study assesses the positions held by think tanks in respect of environmental inequalities and stresses the major policy challenges identified by think tanks with regard to this issue. Two types of policy challenges are particularly prominent. Think tanks focus to a great extent on how environmental stress—natural hazards or diminished access to environmental goods—affect individuals differently. Moreover, they are concerned with the unequal impact of environmental policies such as carbon taxes or fossil fuel subsidies on different parts of society.
- DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ACADEMIC AND APPLIED POLICY RESEARCH
The work of think tanks on environmental inequalities differs in some cases from the academic literature. Exposure and access inequalities are, for instance, almost never assessed with regard to developed countries, in contrast with published academic literature. Furthermore, policy recommendations focus too heavily on pure price mechanisms and short-term measures. In the context of environmental policies, think tanks primarily propose direct monetary compensations to target potential inequality, instead of looking at the underlying causes of why certain segments of the population are more affected by such policy measures in the first place.
