Recent Australian market mechanisms as a component of an environmental policy that can make choices between sustainability and social justice
Using markets mechanisms for tradeable water or pollution rights are being increasingly offered as rational solutions for environmental problems. The rational pursuit of personal gain through trading is assumed to promote increased efficiency in resource use and promote a reduction in the negative aspects of resource utilization. The social and distributive effects of the introduction of markets and their rules and operations have received little concerted study and examination. This paper considers the social justice dimensions of economically rational environmental decision making, with particular reference to rural and urban water markets in Australia.