Addressing environmental inequalities

Key issues

A clean and healthy environment is vital for everyone's quality of life.  While the overall quality of our environment is improving, the quality of the environment can vary between different areas and communities.  People who are socially and economically disadvantaged often live in the worst environments.  For example, those living in the most deprived parts of England experience the worst air quality and have less access to green space and adequate housing.

These problems can affect people's health and well being and can add to the burden of social and economic deprivation.  They can also limit the opportunities available for people to improve their lives and undermine attempts to renew local neighbourhoods.  Those affected tend to be the most vulnerable and excluded in society. 

The causes of these inequalities are often complex and long-standing.  Some problems are due to the historical location of industry and communities; others are the result of the impacts of new developments such as traffic.  Often these environmental problems are caused by the actions of others who do not live in the affected community. Often those most affected have not been involved in the decisions that affect the quality of their environment.

Tackling environmental inequalities and ensuring that all people have access to a good quality environment in the future is critical to sustainable development.

The Environment Agency's role

Our role is to protect the environment and human health through our work in managing flood risk, and improving and protecting the quality of land, air and water. We aim to be a firm and fair regulator and contribute to a better quality of life for everyone, whatever their background and wherever they live. To inform our approach, we carry out research on environmental inequalities and work with others to develop the most effective ways of tackling them. We regulate the release of pollutants from large industrial processes. We also provide information and advice about the environmental impacts of developments to inform local and regional planning decisions that affect their location. We take into account the social and economic impacts of our work whenever possible, and advise government on environmental inequality. We also promote opportunities for fishing and the recreational use of waterways, to help people, including disadvantaged groups, enjoy the environment. We work in partnership with others to promote sustainable development, focusing our efforts where we can most benefit the environment, and by including the interests of disadvantaged communities in our work. We also encourage participation of deprived and excluded communities in decisions that affect their environment.

Solutions we call for:

Government, business and society all have a role to play in addressing environmental inequalities at a national, regional and local level.  We will do what we can to address environmental inequalities and ensure that we do not contribute to further inequalities in the future.  We want to see:

1. A better understanding of environmental inequalities and the most effective ways of addressing them.  Our understanding of environmental inequalities is growing.  We will continue to carry out research to build on this knowledge - more is needed to understand the cumulative impact of environmental inequalities on people's health and quality of life in both rural and urban areas.   A better understanding is needed of where existing mechanisms are reinforcing environmental inequalities; and how government and others can best respond.

2. Government policy promotes a reduction in environmental inequalities.  We welcome the proposal that environmental and social justice should be a key theme in the UK Sustainable Development Strategy.  We will help by scrutinising our approach to modern regulation and flood risk management to help reduce the risks to deprived communities.  We want to see government:

• integrate greater environmental equality across its policies;
• evaluate key new policies for their impacts on those living in the worst environments;
• develop tools such as equity assessments to ensure that policy does not contribute to environmental inequalities but helps address them.

3. Government to address environmental inequalities through tackling disadvantage.  We welcome moves by the Communities and Local Government and Welsh Assembly Government to recognise the environmental aspects of multiple deprivation.  We now want to see:

• future reviews of the English and Welsh Indices of Multiple Deprivation use wider indicators of environmental deprivation as our understanding of environmental inequalities develops;
• the National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal and supporting programmes revised to reflect our developing understanding of the environmental dimensions of deprivation;
• the environment to be recognised in government policy and spending that tackles disadvantage and neighbourhood renewal, for example through revised Public Service Agreements;
• strategies for tackling health inequalities which recognise environmental factors, such as air quality.

4. Regional and local planning prevent environmental inequalities.  Spatial planning often determines the location of environmental hazards and services that affect people’s quality of life.  We will carry out Strategic Environmental Assessments to assess the impact of our plans and programmes on people and their health.  We also want:

• regional and local planning authorities to assess how their decisions and development plans will affect environmental inequality;
• planning authorities to assess the cumulative impacts of new development and location of sites such as waste management facilities on environmental equity;
• Local Strategic Partnerships and Community Planning to address environmental inequalities through the development of Community Strategies in deprived areas.

5. Communities supported and involved in decisions that affect their local environment.  We will continue to provide information and support processes that help people to make better decisions about their environment.  We want improved action by government and others to involve and include the interests of disadvantaged communities in environmental decision-making and ensure that environmental responsibilities are taken seriously by all.

Background

• Public opinion surveys have shown that people living in deprived areas are just as concerned about the environment as other people, and listed pollution, poor public transport and the appearance of their neighbourhoods as major concerns (Social Exclusion Unit, 1998).
• There are eight times more people in the most deprived 10% of the population living in tidal floodplains than the least deprived 10% (Walker et al, 2003).  River water quality is worse in the most deprived areas in England, where up to 50% of watercourses are extensively modified, providing less natural habitats for wildlife (Environment Agency, 2002). 
• People in the most deprived 10% of areas in England experience the worst air quality, and 41% higher concentrations of nitrogen dioxide from transport and industry than the average (Walker et al, 2003). In Wales, the picture is very different, where the highest concentrations of air pollution are found in the least deprived wards. 
• Transport is the main contributor to poor air quality in Air Quality Management Areas, and the cause of respiratory illness and deaths amongst vulnerable groups such as young children. These groups are least likely to live in areas of high car ownership (Stevenson et al, 1998; Mitchell, 2003).
• Often solutions, such as public transport helping to reduce poor air quality, are not available to poorer communities, limiting their opportunities and choices.  Over a 12-month period, 1.4 million people missed, turned down or chose not to seek medical help because of transport problems (Social Exclusion Unit, 2003).
• The revised Indices of Deprivation (ID, 2004) now include indicators on the quality of housing, air quality and road traffic accidents, alongside the six original indices that cover(income, employment, health deprivation and disability, education skills and training, housing, and geographical access to services). These are used to target policies and funding to improve the quality of life in disadvantaged communities.
• The Environment Agency promotes environmental well-being through our involvement in Local Strategic Partnerships and Community Strategy Partnerships in 70% of the 88 most deprived areas in England and 90% of the Community First Pockets of Deprivation in Wales.
• The Aarhus Convention (United Nations ECE/CEP/43) is helping to promote environmental justice. It advocates the right to environmental information, the right to participate in decision-making processes and the right to access to justice in environmental matters.