Environmental racism in Western Europe

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Environmental racism is a form of institutional racism leading to landfills, incinerators, and hazardous waste disposal being disproportionally placed in communities of colour.^[1][2] This includes the lack of minority and indigenous representation in environmental decision-making and inequality in resource development.^[3] Internationally, it is also associated with extractivism, which places the environmental burdens of mining, oil extraction, and industrial agriculture upon Indigenous peoples and poorer nations largely inhabited by people of colour.^[1]

Environmental racism in Western Europe is well documented. Minority groups such as Romani people are subjected to disproportionate exposure to environmental hazards, denial of access to clean air, water, and natural resources, and infringement of environmentally related human rights.^{[4]: 10 [5]: 252} In Northern Europe, indigenous groups such as the Sámi face a history of environmental racism across the Sápmi region in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. This continues today largely in the form of resource development that disproportionally impacts indigenous lands and livelihoods.^[6]