Abstract

The climate crisis shapes and is shaped by inequalities. This nexus takes the justice implications of tackling the crisis at the forefront of the European agenda. The 2019 European Green Deal sets the direction for achieving the EU’s climate neutrality target enshrined in the European Climate Law  while ‘ensuring that no one is left behind’. In this framework, a just transition is presented as a condition of the EU net zero ambition. However the nexus between the social and environmental justice component of the climate transition requires closer investigation. This paper will explore the multiple and intersectional inequalities arising from the climate transition and assess what approaches to justice shape the legal framework implementing the European Green Deal. Focusing on the role of law, the paper argues that strengthening legal rights and processes could support a more integrated framework for social-environmental justice under the European Green Deal.

This paper builds from the speaker’s previous research on the conceptual understanding of justice and the space for citizens’ participation within the EU Just Transition Mechanism. (What justice? The scope for public participation in the European Union Just Transition - Kluwer Law Online).

Speaker

Chiara Armeni is Professor of Environmental Law at the Centre for European Law and an affiliated member of the IEE (Université libre de Bruxelles). Chiara holds a PhD in Law (2020) and a specialised LL.M. in Environmental Law and Policy (2009) from University College London (UK) and a BA (2005) and LLM (2007) from Università Roma Tre (Italy). Chiara’s research is concerned with legal aspects of environmental protection at different levels of governance, with special focus on the UK and EU decision-making.