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Environment

OECD Conference on Environmental Justice

28-29 May 2024
14:00 (CEST)
OECD Headquarters, Paris, France
Hybrid Meeting

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Background 

Environmental justice is about the linkages between environmental and socioeconomic outcomes, as well as the importance of addressing the environmental and health disparities. While the concept defies universal definition, it seeks to redress an array of recurring challenges faced by various communities and groups. These challenges include disproportionate exposure to environmental hazards, unequal access to environmental amenities, and concerns about the distributional implications of environmental policies. There are also common challenges in advancing procedural aspects of environmental justice, including removing barriers to access to environmental information, participation in decision-making processes, and legal recourse.

Conference overview

The conference provided a unique opportunity to bring together a diverse set of perspectives on environmental justice for an international exchange of knowledge. The conference included a series of presentations and interactive panel discussions. Day 1 of the conference unpacked the concept of environmental justice and its key dimensions. Day 2 of the conference explored how environmental justice is pursued across countries, focussing on the forward-looking agenda for addressing persisting and emerging environmental justice issues as countries engage in accelerated efforts towards the transition to a clean economy.

Agenda  

 Full agenda (English version / French version / Spanish version)

Simultaneous interpretation provided in English, French and Spanish

Recording of the conference : Forthcoming

Day 1: 28 May 2024 (afternoon)  

Welcome and opening remarks

  • Jo Tyndall, Director, Environment Directorate, OECD

14:00-14:45 Introduction to environmental justice

Chair: Jo Tyndall, Director, Environment Directorate, OECD

Speakers

  • David Schlosberg, Erkko Visiting Professor, Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, Finland; Director, Sydney Environment Institute, University of Sydney, Australia 
  • Paige Weber, Assistant Professor, University of California, Berkeley, USA 
  • Shardul Agrawala, Head, Environment and Economy Integration Division, Environment Directorate, OECD

14:45-16:00 Unpacking inequitable distribution of environmental hazards and amenities

Chair: Kumi Kitamori, Deputy Director, Environment Directorate, OECD

Speakers

  • Jon Fairburn, Emeritus Professor, Staffordshire University, UK
  • Jong-Tae Lee, Professor, School of Health Policy and Management, College of Health Sciences, Korea University, Korea
  • Sacoby Wilson, Professor, Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, University of Maryland, USA
  • Fiona Macleod, Chair – Loss Prevention Bulletin Editorial Panel, FIChemE, UK 
  • Isabelle Anguelovski, Director, Barcelona Laboratory for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability, Spain

16:15-17:30 Understanding the distribution of the costs and benefits of environmental policy

Chair: Stephen White, European Commission; Chair, OECD Working Party on Integrating Environmental and Economic Policies

Speakers

      • Joseph Shapiro, Associate Professor, University of California, Berkeley, USA
      • Mathilde Viennot, Project Manager on Fair Transition, France Stratégie, Office of the Prime Minister, France
      • Manisha Anantharaman, Assistant Professor, Sciences Po, France
      • Amanda Monforton, Director, Policy Development, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canada

17:30-18:30 Facilitating access to information, participation and legal recourse

Chair: Mathilde Mesnard, Deputy Director, OECD Environment Directorate 

Speakers

        • Emily Barritt, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Law, King’s College London, UK; Visiting Professor, École de Droit, Sciences Po, France
        • Gloria Amparo Rodríguez, Magistrate, Special Jurisdiction for Peace, Colombia
        • Anahera Nin, Member of OECD Youthwise (OECD’s Youth Advisory Board consisting of members aged 18-30) from New Zealand

18:30-19:30 Cocktail reception 

Location: Garden Lounge of the Château (weather permitting) 

Day 2: 29 May 2024 (morning)

8:30-09:00 Coffee

9:00-11:00 National approaches to environmental justice

Chair: Kumi Kitamori, Deputy Director, Environment Directorate, OECD

Speakers

              • Karim Marshall, Senior Adviser, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, USA
              • Dominique Hervé Espejo, Professor of environmental law, Universidad Diego Portales, Chile  
              • Peter Lukey, Environment Knowledge and Information, Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, South Africa
              • Franziska Wolff, Head, Division on Sustainability and Social Aspects of Environmental Policy, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, Germany

11:00-12:20 Frontiers of research and action on environmental justice amidst growing urgency of transformative environmental policy

Chair: Shardul Agrawala, Head, Environment and Economy Integration Division, Environment Directorate, OECD 

Speakers

                • Ann Wolverton, Senior Research Economist, National Center for Environmental Economics, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, USA 
                • Francesco Vona, Professor of Economics, University of Milan, Italy
                • Stephen White, European Commission; Chair, OECD Working Party on Integrating Environmental and Economic Policies 

12:20-12:30 Conference closing

Closing remarks: 

            • Jo Tyndall, Director, Environment Directorate, OECD

 

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