Investigating Environmental Justice

Overview

Lesson 10 of 30 in Climate Change in the Pacific. Students build on prior learning about Pacific climate-change impacts by investigating who is affected, who makes decisions, and what a fair response might involve. They use contrasting viewpoints to develop an environmental justice case study.

Learning intentions

• WALT define environmental justice in a climate-change context.
• WALT investigate how climate change affects Pacific communities differently.
• WALT compare perspectives and viewpoints about responsibility and responses.
• WALT use evidence to justify a fair and sustainable response.

Success criteria

• I can explain environmental justice using my own words.
• I can identify unequal environmental, social and economic impacts.
• I can describe at least two perspectives and the values behind them.
• I can propose and justify a response that demonstrates fairness, responsibility and care for people and te taiao.

Curriculum links

• Geography: decision-making in response to a geographic challenge in the wider Pacific region, including perspectives, viewpoints, evidence and geographic terminology.
• Geography: exploring an environment using qualitative and quantitative data, and recognising how evidence strengthens or limits understanding.
• Geography: analysing the impacts of a phenomenon on place, including social, economic, environmental and political impacts.
• New Zealand Curriculum Refresh: inquiry, critical thinking, participation, collaboration, and acting with care and responsibility towards people and the environment.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–7 min · Hook and prior learning. Teacher displays a photograph contrasting a flooded low-lying Pacific settlement with a high-emissions urban area using the opening image and provocative question and asks, “Is climate change fair?” Students complete a silent quick-write, then share one impact remembered from previous lessons with a partner.

2. 7–17 min · Teach the key concept. Teacher uses the environmental justice concept slides to explain that environmental justice considers fair treatment and meaningful participation in environmental decisions; introduce distributional justice (who receives benefits and harm), procedural justice (who is heard), and recognition (whose knowledge, identity and rights are respected). Students create a three-part concept map and suggest one Pacific example for each dimension.

3. 17–22 min · Model evidence and viewpoints. Teacher models a short example about coastal flooding, distinguishing a fact, a viewpoint and a value, then demonstrates geographic terms such as vulnerability, adaptation, mitigation, displacement, equity and resilience. Students identify which statements are evidence, viewpoint or value in the examples on the evidence-sort slide.

4. 22–40 min · Case-study investigation. Teacher places students in six groups of five and distributes the Pacific environmental justice investigation sheet. Each group investigates one supplied case study, such as climate-related displacement, cyclone recovery, coastal protection, loss of freshwater, or climate finance. Students annotate the evidence, identify affected groups, complete the three justice lenses, and record two perspectives—for example, a Pacific community or iwi/hapū perspective and a government, business or international perspective. They must distinguish what each group values, who has decision-making power, and which evidence supports each viewpoint.

5. 40–51 min · Decision-making forum. Teacher displays the stakeholder forum instructions and assigns each group a two-minute report: “The fairest response is…” followed by evidence and a limitation. Students present their recommendation, listen for similarities and differences, and complete the comparison section of the worksheet. After all reports, the class votes on which response best balances fairness, effectiveness and feasibility, explaining their choice.

6. 51–60 min · Analysis and exit ticket. Teacher returns to the opening question with the plenary and exit-ticket slide. Students complete the final worksheet response: “Environmental justice matters in the Pacific because… A fair response would… This is fair because…” They submit the worksheet or photograph their completed response before leaving.

Resources

• the environmental justice slide deck
• the Pacific environmental justice investigation sheet
• Pacific climate-change case-study cards or short teacher-prepared extracts
• Projector and speakers
• Whiteboard and markers
• Highlighters or coloured pens
• Sticky notes
• Group table labels

Assessment

• During the concept lesson, check whether students can distinguish distributional, procedural and recognition justice; address misconceptions through questioning.
• Circulate during group work and use the worksheet to assess accurate use of evidence, perspectives, viewpoints and geographic terminology.
• Use the final written response as an exit ticket: students should explain significance, not simply state that climate change is unfair. Note students ready to progress from describing to explaining or evaluating decision-making.

Differentiation

• Provide a vocabulary bank, a worked example, colour-coded evidence, and sentence starters: “This group’s viewpoint is…”, “The evidence suggests…”, and “This response is fair because…”.
• Give students who need support a shorter case-study extract with key evidence highlighted; allow oral recording or paired dictation for the final response.
• Use mixed-readiness groups with defined roles such as facilitator, reader, evidence finder, perspective tracker and reporter. Read extracts aloud and check understanding for EAL learners.
• For advanced learners, require them to evaluate a trade-off between equity, effectiveness and feasibility, challenge the reliability or limitation of one source, and explain how power influences whose perspective shapes the decision.

Extension

• Research a current environmental justice issue affecting a Pacific community and bring one reliable piece of evidence and one community perspective to the next lesson.
• Write a short recommendation to a local or national decision-maker, explaining how the proposal demonstrates tiakitanga and addresses unequal impacts.