Multinational Energy Justice for Managing Multinational Risks: A Case Study of Nuclear Waste Repositories

This paper investigates the viability of Energy Justice as a framework to assist the governance of multinational risk. Positioned between local and universal scales, it advocates for the approach of multinational energy justice as a means of considering justice manifestations either between neighboring countries, or between geographically isolated countries that share common energy concerns or systems. Specifically, it focuses on how to govern the risk of nuclear waste in a multinational fashion, and questions the extent to which this approach could offer a useful account to help understand the justice issues multinational repositories give rise to. We present a content analysis of 10-years’ worth of policy reports on nuclear waste repositories (2006–16), including 25 full-length reports documents relating to the Government of South Australia's now abandoned repository proposal. Following a discussion around the merit of energy justice approaches in relation of transboundary issues of justice, intergenerational justice and the role conflicting justice demands across time and space, we present three areas for further consideration: (i) We call for greater attention to issues of spatial conflict; (ii) further reflect on temporal justice conflict and its integration into energy justice frameworks; and (iii) reflect upon multinational responsibility for energy justice.