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Ecologically Unequal Exchange, Ecological Debt, and Climate Justice

The History and Implications of Three Related Ideas for a New Social Movement

The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA, jtrobe{at}wm.edu

Bradley C. Parks

Millennium Challenge Corporation, Washington, DC, USA, parksbc{at}mcc.gov

Building on structuralist perspectives of the world economy, a small but growing group of researchers have forged a new literature on `ecologically unequal exchange' and documented that energy and materials disproportionately flow from the Global South to the Global North. These findings have begun to influence efforts to negotiate a `post-Kyoto' global climate regime. Since the extraction of resources and energy is one of the most damaging stages of the chain of commodity production, a logical next step is the mounting cry from developing countries that they are owed an `ecological debt' by the North. The G-77 and China have seized on these ideas and a movement for `climate justice' is now gaining strength in and exerting influence in international negotiations, including the UNFCCC meetings in Delhi, Bali, and Pozna. This article reviews the history of these related three ideas and examines their potential to reshape the discussion of `burden sharing' in the post-Kyoto world where development is constrained by climate change.

Key Words: climate change • environmental justice • international development • low-carbon economy • structuralism

International Journal of Comparative Sociology, Vol. 50, No. 3-4, 385-409 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0020715209105147


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