Social work for a greener planet: reframing social work skills and education to mitigate the climate crisis

Abstract

The warming of the planet and the currently increasing evidence of the climate crisis compel social workers to prepare themselves and their students to shoulder new roles and develop new models of education. This focused literature review provides the social work educator or activist with essential and suggested materials in order to teach and/or lead community projects in this area. It starts by providing details of the direct and indirect effects of the climate crisis and proposes two main approaches used by social workers in climate crisis mitigation: the first derives from identifying populations at risk from the increasing heat and extreme weather events and emphasizes future planning and inter-sectorial collaboration on how to provide services to affected populations. The second focuses on preparing to meet the needs of vulnerable populations in extreme weather events and climate-related disasters, using a framework of pro-active disaster management. Additional roles for social workers in addressing eco-anxiety and environmental justice, with examples from the Global North and South are detailed. The second half of the paper suggests appropriate educational approaches and tools that may be incorporated in teaching about the climate crisis. Suggested reading is included.

Keywords

• Climate crisis
• vulnerable populations
• social work roles
• social work education
• extreme weather events
• disasters