Prof Susan Park1
1University of Sydney, Australia
Biography:
Susan Park is Professor of Global Governance in International Relations at the University of Sydney. She focuses on how international organisations and global governance can become greener and more accountable, particularly in the transition to renewable energy. She has been a visiting scholar at the London School of Economics, Oxford University, the Technical University of Munich, American University, and the Centennial Centre in Washington DC. Her work has been funded by the Australian, Canadian, British and German governments.
Abstract:
Outside international law and arbitration or political protest, people have turned to international grievance mechanisms to seek environmental justice for harm from extraction, production and international development. This article examines the use of international grievance mechanisms for the Multilateral Development Banks by people seeking recourse for a lack of recognition, a lack of participation in environmental matters, and a maldistribution of risks and benefits impinging on their capabilities to lead full lives as a result of international development projects. Importantly, people have not only identified when and where they seek environmental justice, but are using these anthropocentric institutions for ecological justice as well. In this regard, people seek recourse for grievances on behalf of nature absent their dependence on it. The article documents how people seek ecological justice for nature, or its right to exist, repair, and regenerate. An analysis of over 400 original claims submitted to the IGMs reveals what people seek recourse for and the prospect of achieving environmental and ecological (eco-)justice.