「環境正義」(environmental justice)是面對環境爭議時經常使用的語詞。然而，什麼是「環境正義」，一直未能在環境倫理研究的脈絡中獲得有系統的概念梳理與建構，以致於現實社會上諸多環境行為、相關決策與爭議難以運用倫理學中的相應概念進行合理的判斷。決策者在遭遇環境不正義情況時必須承擔部分責任，因為他們往往不假思索的以量化和成本效益分析的方式來評估環境風險，而不去審慎思考包含於其中的正義問題。環境正義只是一個環境問題、一個政治問題或一個社會問題？其實，這些因素全都涵括在環境議題當中。更精確的說，環境正義研究對正義議題的關注遠超過對環境技術層面的討論。而這正是本篇論文所要呈現的內容－－如何以倫理學上的正義觀點來分析環境正義的問題。 本論文首先從倫理學的角度來進行正義概念的梳理，論證環境正義其實就是社會正義所延伸出來的分支理念，其次以權利理論與效益理論對正義的不同理解進路為主軸，檢視不同進路對環境正義理論之解釋效力與限制。最後本文肯定這些對立的倫理理論其實都共同持有一種道德平等的價值觀，延伸來看，環境正義的根本訴求亦即道德主體(moral agent)在環境領域上要求獲得平等關懷與尊重(equal concern and respect)，每個人在追求良善環境的道德起點上是平等的，在環境政策上都能獲得平等考量，不因社經地位或自然稟賦而有差異，環境利益與負擔的分配考量也應尊重每一位作為有尊嚴的個體。 ‘Environmental Justice’ is a popular term in the disputes over environmental issues. However, the meaning of ‘Environmental Justice’ hasn’t been systematically conceptual constructed in the context of research of environmental ethics. Many environmental behaviors and relevant policies in social reality are hard to be reasonably judged on the basis of relative ethical concepts. Policymakers bear some of the blame for the failure to confront environmental injustice. They typically use quantitative risk assessment and benefit-cost analysis in ways that are not sensitive to justice issues. Is ‘Environmental Justice’ an environmental issue? Is it a political issue? Is it a social issue? Actually, it is all of them. More accurate to say, environmental justice is devoted more systematically to the topic of justice than to the environmental technology. This is what I would like to present--how to analyze environmental justice issues using a justice-perspective, an ethical approach. In the first place, I begin with clarifying the concept of justice in terms of viewpoints of ethics and then justify that environmental justice is actually a branch issue which derives from social justice. In the second place, according to theories of rights and utilitarian, which the different approaches of explanation of justice, I also examine the effectiveness and limitations of these two diverse theories over the goal of environmental justice. Finally, I affirm that these contradictory ethical theories actually share the same value -- moral equality. The fundamental target of environmental justice is that every moral agent is treated by equal concern and respect in the consideration about environmental issue. Each one is equal in terms of the moral starting point of pursuing healthy environment, and gets equal consideration according to environmental policies. Everyone should not be differently treated because of his or her social status and natural endowment. Meanwhile, the allocation of environmental benefit and burden should respect for every dignified individual.
