Environmental injustice in Europe

Environmental injustice is the exposure of poor and marginalised communities to a disproportionate share of environmental harms such as hazardous waste, when they do not receive benefits from the land uses that create these hazards. Environmental racism is environmental injustice in a racialised context. These issues may lead to infringement of environmentally related human rights.^{: 10 : 252} Environmental justice is a social movement to address these issues.

In Europe, environmental racism has been postulated in particular toward Romani communities. According to Trehan and Kocze (2009), "EU accession for the post-socialist countries has resulted in a de facto centre and periphery within Europe itself, thus exacerbating the already marginal economic and political position of Roma in Europe whose communities continue to subsist as internal colonies within Europe."^: 264 This peripheral position, in which segregated Romani settlements and their inhabitants become viewed as de-territorialized zones "beyond the pale" of government responsibility and European Union citizenship,^: 264 has been identified by some scholars as an aggravating factor in the prevalence of environmental hazards (such as proximity to industrial facilities and illegal or toxic waste dumps).^{: 19–20 : 252, 263 : 74–5} This practice has been identified in relation to the lack of basic services such as water, housing, sanitation^{: 19–20 : 263} and access to education^: 238–9 affecting marginalized Romani communities.