Environmental Justice

Annex A. OECD Environmental Justice Survey

This annex contains the survey which was sent out to OECD member countries, the European Commission and several non-member countries1 between September 2023 and February 2024, with the purpose to scan national approaches to identify, analyse, and address environmental justice concerns. To facilitate the response the questionnaire was made available in English, French and Spanish.

 

SECTION 1: Approaches to environmental justice This section aims to obtain an understanding of how governments approach environmental justice and how these concerns are reflected in corresponding strategies, policies, plans, or laws. It also seeks to explore how governments identify communities or groups, which are commonly most at risk of experiencing environmental justice concerns.
1. If the concept of environmental justice is used by your administration (government, ministry, agency), how is it defined? If the concept is not used, please describe what terminology is used when referring to issues such as: a group or community’s distinct vulnerability to environmental impacts (e.g. due to their level of income, ethnic background, age, health conditions); inequitable exposure to environmental hazards (e.g. due to the concentration of some communities in certain geographic areas or employment sectors); inequitable economic burden of environmental policies on communities at risk; barriers to participation in environmental decision-making, particularly for persons from communities or vulnerable groups at risk.	Please specify:
2. Has your administration set out objectives that fall under the scope of environmental justice as defined in question 1? Examples may include: identifying, analysing, or addressing existing inequalities in the exposure of different communities or groups to environmental hazards; identifying, analysing, or addressing potential inequitable impacts of proposed or existing environmental programmes, policies, regulations on communities or groups at risk (e.g. measures to offset economic costs of environmental policies); facilitating public participation in environmental policy processes, particularly for persons from communities or groups at risk.	☐ Yes. Please elaborate and share relevant sources: ___ ☐ No
3. If you have such objectives, do you have dedicated strategies, policies, plans, or laws for their implementation?	☐ Yes (please share relevant sources) ☐ No
4. In your administration, do you identify communities or groups at risks? Such communities or groups may, due to their social or economic circumstances, face: inequitable exposure to environmental hazards and to the costs of environmental policies; unequal access to environmental amenities and the benefits of environmental policies; limited access to environmental information and participation in related policy processes.	☐ Yes, we identify communities or groups that may be particularly vulnerable in policy analysis or decision-making: a) ☐ Yes, albeit in a general context b) ☐ Yes, in environmental policy analysis or decision-making ☐ Yes, but only informally at an operational level ☐ No such communities or groups are identified ☐ Other If available, please provide reference to related documents.
5. If the answer to the previous question is ''yes'', which of the following characteristics do you consider as relevant to identify communities or groups that may be particularly at risk in the context of your jurisdiction? If possible, please specify the kinds of data and sources that are used to inform this analysis. Please select all that apply.
Indicator	Examples of data and sources (please specify)
☐ Lack of access to key public services (e.g. health care, education, clean water, public transport, public safety)
☐ Lack of access to environmental amenities (e.g. parks, safe drinking water)
☐ Health and disability
☐ Indigenous populations
☐ Immigration/migrant status
☐ Ethnicity or race
☐ Occupational sector
☐ Level of income
☐ Household composition (e.g. single-parent, multi-generation)
☐ Residential ownership status (e.g. homeowner, renter, social housing resident)
☐ Gender
☐ Level of education
☐ Age
☐ Minority language
☐ National origin
☐ Other (please specify): ___
6. Are there regions where certain communities or groups may be particularly exposed to environmental justice concerns as defined by your administration in question 1?	☐ Yes. Please specify: ____ ☐ No, we don’t target specific regions
SECTION 2: Assessment and data This section looks at the assessment of environmental hazards and risks and exposure to them. It examines the data, tools, and methods that governments have at their disposal to determine the nature and the distribution of hazards and risks across the general population within their respective jurisdictions.
7. At what stages of the environmental policy process do you conduct assessments of environmental hazards and risks? Please select all that apply and where possible please complement with additional information and relevant documents.	☐ Legislation / rulemaking ☐ Permitting ☐ Monitoring ☐ Enforcement ☐ Evaluation ☐ Other. Please specify: ___
8. When conducting risk assessments or other types of analysis of environmental hazards (e.g. hazardous waste, air and water pollution), does this include a focus on whether communities or groups at risk are or are likely to be disproportionately exposed or impacted?	☐ Yes, we always assess if some communities or groups are or are likely to be disproportionately exposed ☐ Sometimes, but not systematically If so, what are the criteria for such an assessment to be carried out? Please specify: ___ ☐ No, we never assess the exposure of a particular community but only for the population in general
9. What data or methodological challenges do you face in assessing the risk or exposure of different communities or groups to environmental hazards?	Please specify: ___
10. Are qualitative data and methods considered in your assessments of the risk or exposure to environmental hazards?	☐ Yes. Please specify what data and methods are used and how: ___ ☐ No, we do not consider qualitative data and methods
11. Do you have specific tools (e.g. interactive maps) that allow decision-makers to combine data and information on environmental, social and economic variables?	☐ Yes. Please specify and share relevant links: ___ ☐ No, but we are in the process of developing such tools: ___ ☐ No, we do not have such tools
12. How are risk assessments and other types of quantitative analysis as well as the results from these analyses, used to inform policy, regulations, legislation, or public outreach to address environmental justice concerns as defined by your administration in question 1?	Please specify: ___
SECTION 3: Environmental justice implications of policy measures This section focuses on measures that can address environmental justice concerns. Examples include measures that address inequitable exposure of communities or groups at risk to environmental hazards, improve their access to environmental amenities, mitigate disproportionate costs associated with environmental policies, and facilitate their public engagement and participation in policy processes.
13. When designing or implementing new environmental laws, regulations, policies, plans or programmes, do you explicitly identify or consider the potential impact of these policies on communities or groups at risk?	☐ Yes, always. Please specify: ___ ☐ Sometimes. Please specify: ___ ☐ No, never
14. If the answer to the previous question is yes, are any communities or groups given particular attention?	☐ Yes. Please elaborate the characteristics of these communities or groups: ____ ☐ Sometimes. Please specify: ___ ☐ No, never
15. What laws, regulations, policies, plans or programmes have been put in place specifically to address environmental justice concerns? Some examples of such measures are provided but others can be added. Please select all that apply and where possible please complement with additional information and relevant documents.	Measures aimed at reducing, avoiding or offsetting: ☐ Inequitable exposure to environmental hazards (e.g. provisions and criteria in zoning laws, hazardous waste and landfill site permitting, land use planning regulations): ___ ☐ Inequitable burden of the economic costs of environmental policies (e.g. higher commuting costs due to fossil fuel charges, increased housing prices following a clean-up of polluting activities): ___ ☐ The barriers to participation in environmental decision-making processes (e.g. public consultations, citizen panels), particularly those faced by persons from communities or groups at risk: ___ Measures aimed at improving equitable access to: ☐ The environmental benefits of environmental policies (e.g. green spaces): ___ ☐ The economic benefits of environmental policies (e.g. subsidies to climate-resilient housing): ___ Other ☐ Please specify: ___
16. If you have measures in place aiming to improve public engagement and participation, particularly for persons from communities or groups at risk, can you provide examples of how this engagement informed any regulations, policies, plans or programmes put in place?	Examples of the impact from measures aimed at: ☐ Increasing access to environmental information (including information related to human health): ___ ☐ Facilitating public participation in environmental policy processes: ___ ☐ Facilitating the access of potentially interested persons to administrative and judicial procedures regarding alleged violations of environmental laws and regulations: ___ ☐ Other (please specify): ___
17. Do you allocate a share of revenues of environmental taxes, fees and charges to mitigate economic burdens on communities or groups at risk?	☐ Yes, a revenue recycling system is in place. Please describe: ____ ☐ Yes, compensation is done through the general budget ☐ No, there is no such system in place
18. What are the challenges you face in addressing issues such as inequitable exposure to environmental hazards, inequitable economic burden of environmental policies, or barriers to participating in environmental decision-making?	Please describe:
Further information
19. We are collecting case studies of measures that have successfully identified, analysed or addressed environmental justice concerns. Is there an example from your jurisdiction that you could share?
20. Do you have any additional comments?
THANK YOU

Note

← 1.  The survey was sent out to the following countries (countries which provided the response are marked with a *): Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada*, Chile*, Colombia*, Costa Rica*, Croatia*, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia*, Finland, France*, Germany*, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan*, Korea*, Latvia, Lithuania*, Luxembourg, Mexico*, the Netherlands, New Zealand*, Norway, Peru*, Poland*, Portugal*, Slovak Republic*, Slovenia, South Africa*, Spain*, Sweden*, Switzerland*, Türkiye*, the United Kingdom* (where separate responses were received from England and Scotland), and the United States*.