Climate change and social inequality Essays on the distributional dimension of environmental policy in the Belgian welfare state

From an inequality perspective, climate change and broader environmental problems can be characterised as fundamentally distributive issues. Social inequalities are situated both in responsibility for these problems, in vulnerability to their consequences, and in the agency to address them. Applied to Belgium/Flanders and from a household consumption perspective, the dissertation examines (1) how ecological footprints are distributed across the Belgian or Flemish population (2) what this implies…

From an inequality perspective, climate change and broader environmental problems can be characterised as fundamentally distributive issues. Social inequalities are situated both in responsibility for these problems, in vulnerability to their consequences, and in the agency to address them. Applied to Belgium/Flanders and from a household consumption perspective, the dissertation examines (1) how ecological footprints are distributed across the Belgian or Flemish population (2) what this implies for the size and distribution of environmental policy effects on household income, and (3) under what conditions policies can be designed to reconcile climate and environmental objectives with desirable social outcomes. For energy renovations and water tariffs, the research addresses how climate change and climate policy link with essential human needs, and that observed social inequalities require conscious and proactive attention in the design of policy measures.