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Socioeconomic Equity and Sustainability

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Global Environmental Change

Part of the book series: Handbook of Global Environmental Pollution ((EGEP,volume 1))

Abstract

Disparities of social status, wealth, income, and political power have been growing over the past several decades, both within and between nations. Socioeconomic inequality is now understood to be integrally linked to environmental degradation, climate change, and blocking of pathways to sustainability. I provide a brief overview of the evidence and arguments for this link, organized around three propositions: that environmental degradation is one of the main ways in which socioeconomic inequality is manifested, that socioeconomic inequality is one of the primary drivers of environmental degradation, and that issues of socioeconomic equity must be addressed before we can make progress on solutions to global environmental problems and transition towards sustainability.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Research in the Social Sciences (IRiSS), Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Deborah S. Rogers

Authors
  1. Deborah S. Rogers
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Correspondence to Deborah S. Rogers .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada

    Bill Freedman

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Rogers, D.S. (2014). Socioeconomic Equity and Sustainability. In: Freedman, B. (eds) Global Environmental Change. Handbook of Global Environmental Pollution, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5784-4_62

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