Environmental justice implications and conceptual advancements: community experiences of proposed shale gas exploration in the UK

Environmental justice (EJ) concerns about shale gas have recently emerged. Relatively little is known about the lived experiences and on-the-ground EJ concerns of UK communities facing drilling proposals. We address this knowledge gap through a UK case study of Woodsetts, South Yorkshire, where a prolonged planning process has created anticipatory EJ issues that demonstrate how injustices occur prior to development, creating damaging effects on a community across several years. We find evidence of both well-established and newly emerging distributive, procedural and recognition justice issues, including concerns about the disparate distribution of risks for the most intersectionally-vulnerable residents, a lack of timely access to data and information, and a lack of understanding and recognition of local residents and their place-based concerns. These findings have conceptual implications for future research on perceptions, anticipations and experiences of EJ, as well as practical implications for future energy proposals aimed at meeting net zero emissions.