Environmental Inequality: Modern Approaches to Conceptualizing the Concept

The article discusses a new type of social inequality - environmental inequality. This inequality is a consequence of the global environmental problems of our time and of the uneven distribution of environmental risks associated with people's different natural living conditions and, as they primarily are the result of human activities, with the redistribution of negative environmental consequences between different subjects of social relations (countries, regions, social groups). Since environmental problems became the subject of sociological analysis only in the second half of the 20th century, there is currently no single definition of socioecological inequality and its dimensions. The aim of the article is to systematize modern sociological approaches to the conceptualization of the concept "environmental inequality" by identifying key characteristics and dimensions of this new form of social inequality. The theoretical basis of the article is works by modern foreign and domestic researchers (J. Gobert, A. Mol, S. Hackfort, S.P. Bankovskaya. O.N. Yanitsky, and others), the empirical basis is the data of reports of the World Health Organization, the UN, etc. The social aspects of environmental problems, including environmental inequality, are considered in the framework of environmental sociology that arose in the second half of the 20th century. The article presents different positions regarding what name the new industry may have. Based on the analysis, the author comes to the conclusion that the most important issues for sociology are: firstly, the distinction between socially determined environmental risks and threats and natural differences; secondly, the identification of the relationship between environmental inequality and other (including traditional) forms of social inequality; thirdly, the study of the social consequences (current and potential) of environmental problems and the development of recommendations to reduce or prevent them. Special attention is paid to the contradictions of social development: at present, the growth of welfare and quality of life of the population is closely linked to environmental degradation. The article also outlines the social consequences of environmental problems of our time, such as new social conflicts and contradictions, intensification of migration processes and environmental refugees, reduction in economic growth, an increase of poverty and a decrease of the quality of life, as well as an increase in the economic burden on states. The conclusion is drawn about the relevance of the sociological analysis of environmental problems and the need for an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the interaction of society and nature.

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