Ethical Challenges of Environmental Policies in Urban Societies: From Individual Responsibility to Climate Justice

Introduction: The intensification of environmental crises in urban societies, particularly in the context of accelerating climate change, has turned environmental policy into one of the most important arenas of public decision-making. Cities are, on the one hand, major centers of pollution generation and resource consumption, and on the other hand, they concentrate the highest levels of social inequality and environmental vulnerability. Within this context, urban environmental policies face complex ethical challenges related to the distribution of responsibilities, costs, and benefits among citizens and institutions. Drawing on the literature of environmental ethics and climate justice, this article seeks to rethink the concept of individual responsibility, examine the tension between environmental efficiency and social justice, and analyze the role of urban institutions and structures in the redistribution of responsibilities. Material and Methods: This research was conducted as a narrative–analytical review article. To this end, reputable scientific sources published in international databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, IEEE, and Google Scholar were systematically searched. The information obtained from the studies was analyzed and conclusions were drawn based on the analyses. Conclusion: The analytical findings indicate that an exclusive focus on individual responsibility, without due attention to structural and institutional constraints, can lead to the reproduction of urban inequalities and undermine the legitimacy of environmental policies. Climate justice, as a normative framework, enables the integration of environmental efficiency, social justice, and institutional responsibility, and redefines the criteria for policy evaluation. The article concludes that the design of just urban environmental policies requires a multidimensional approach in which citizen empowerment, institutional accountability, and the reduction of social inequalities are pursued simultaneously. Such an approach constitutes a fundamental condition for achieving environmental sustainability and social justice in contemporary cities.