ABSTRACT
Environmental justice lies at the heart of most environmental disputes between the global North and South as well as grass-roots environmental struggles within nations. However, the discourse of international environmental law is often ahistorical and technocratic. It neither educates the North about its inordinate contribution to global environmental problems nor responds to the grievances of nations and communities disproportionately burdened by poverty and environmental degradation. This chapter examines the root causes of environmental injustice among and within nations from the colonial period to the present, and discusses strategies to integrate environmental justice into international law so as to promote social and economic justice while protecting natural resources for present and future generations.
