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More than a green movement. Environmental justice as a new perspective for Dutch historiography on environmental activism

This article argues that future research into the history of Dutch environmental activism should draw on environmental justice theory in order to broaden our understanding of environmental movements as new social movements. A new research agenda is proposed, based on a review of different international perspectives that broaden the definition of environmental activism, notably the perspectives of environmental justice, including environmentalism of the poor, and labour environmentalism. These frameworks reveal that the relationship and tension between polluting factories, factory workers, and inhabitants of polluted regions deserve more attention. The added value of this approach is demonstrated through the case of the Hoogovens steel plant in the Netherlands. A new history of environmental activism is needed to understand current and future environmental protests.