Frames of Environmental Justice: Government Policies on Oil Drilling and Gas Exploration

This research paper revolves around indigenous communities facing injustices with regards to oil and gas exploration activities. These communities, including their historically and culturally-significant ways of living with nature, are burdened with injustices and displacements due to governments lack of recognition of their location-specific ways of life. This study focuses on the environmental justice frames by governments within policy documents. Thereby, it tries to explain the linkages between environmental justice, local communities and the oil and gas sector while focussing on key paragraphs in those policies. With the help of theories of framing, capabilities and recognition, as well as concepts laid out in the literature review, the policies were analysed using a coding scheme, specified for this study. The results of this research shows the significant position of recognition with regards to local communities capabilities, rights and cooperation. This analysis has demonstrated essential steps that governments need to take in order to ensure recognition and basic community capabilities for environmentally-just surroundings. This study has also shown that frames are crucial in understanding governments articulation of goals and objectives but it has also become clear that these frames are globalising and changing, along with public opinion. Therefore there is a need for more monitoring and strategic management within the policy-making process in order to achieve environmental and climate justice while at the same time expanding on the role of the state to satisfy their citizens fundamental rights and capabilities and recognising all different kinds of cultural developments and customs.