Environmental and social inequalities: identifying emergences, creating dynamics

Whilst significant progress has been made in the field of research and information on social inequalities over recent years, only recently has any work been undertaken in France on the issue of environmental inequalities. In 2002, the French Committee for the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development defined them as «a difference in situation between individuals and social groups that is visible not only in ‘ecological’ terms in the strictest sense (pollution, public hygiene, natural environments, etc.) but also in terms of living space, accessible renewable resources, the quality of human settlements, living conditions, landscape, etc. and that is considered to be in breach of human rights and furthermore likely to result in imbalances that are detrimental to the smooth running of the community».