Achieving Environmental Justice Through Compensation

"Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes and floods: These are commonly thought of as "natural disasters," but that label does not capture the human role in prevention or response. Katrina was a Category 1 hurricane, but negligence by governmental actors led to widespread devastation that might have been prevented. Nuclear disasters such as the fallout from Fukushima have led to questions about the safety of nuclear energy, even where extensive efforts are made to prevent disaster. In both cases, post-disaster response has been criticized, as well. The consequences to public health and safety from these failures continue, often affecting the most vulnerable citizens the most severely.

"This paper looks at the role that compensation can play in reducing the public health impact of disasters. Such compensation can be through civil liability, or through a government or privately funded fund. Both of these mechanisms can contribute to deterring actors from actions that have an adverse impact on the public's health. Although deterrence is more effective in changing the behavior of corporate actors than of governments, properly constructed and limited compensation funds nonetheless have roles to play in supplementing prevention efforts."