How Does Differential Public Participation Influence Outcome Justice in Energy Transitions? Evidence from a Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Project in China

Abstract

A comprehensive understanding of public participation is critical for delivering justice in the energy transition. Waste-to-energy (WTE) is a practical approach toward sustainable energy transitions, which may threaten the realization of justice. Previous studies on WTE facilities have mostly discussed the siting stage under the environmental impact assessment (EIA) framework, and few have focused on whether public participation differs when different types of pollution occur. In this paper, we take a WTE project in Kunming, China as an example and, based on semi-structured interviews and questionnaires, explore the influence of differential public participation. The findings indicate that residents were more sensitive when faced with obvious pollution, which became the dominant factor in participation; meanwhile, they were inactively engaged in hidden pollution. Lower levels of health participation partly affect the realization of outcome justice. The shift from procedural justice to outcome justice is not inevitable and is subject to many factors. From an activism perspective, different perceptions of pollution risks and constraints on activities contribute to this state. We call for the government to complete the relevant engagement design in WTE projects and improve citizens’ awareness to achieve better environmental justice.