Abstract : Environmental challenges are, at their root, social problems that arise from income and power
inequality. Thus, inequality is an environmental issue just as environmental degradation is a
social issue(forming a “social-ecological nexus”), and solutions must address them jointly
through principles and institutions rooted in justice. This article develops a two-sided “social-
ecological” approach to offer both analytical and empirical insights into the dynamics of this
relationship and a policy path forward
