Mid Sweden University

Reflecting upon the theme of this year’s conference “Redefining Social Policy and Social Work Practice in A Post-Pandemic Society: Social Welfare Programs and Social Work Education at A Crossroads”, Climate Change, as one of the major factors impacting on people’s living conditions and possibilities to access basic rights, shows not only through higher temperatures or sea level rising, but results also in a considerably higher risk for future pandemics. Discussing the challenges of a post-pandemic society to Social Work, we must therefore be aware that Climate Change will by far exceed the consequences of the pandemic we just experienced.

 Social workers consequently need to become aware of and strengthen their knowledge about Climate Change in order to address the multiplicity of precursors to and consequences of Climate Change and prepare for a society in Climate Crisis.

 The latest IPCC-report (2022) poses a direct urge for every part of (local) society to take on its responsibilities. This obviously applies even to Social Work. Social workers agree, but rarely see concrete opportunities to do climate-related work within their job description.

 A variety of researchers have drawn attention to the need for radical changes in social work and social work education towards more critical and climate justice conscious perspectives (e.g. Dominelli 2020, Ouis & Cuadra 2021). Also the re-politicization of social work is increasingly seen as essential if social workers are to be able to educate and engage with the climate crisis within the narrow window of opportunity that remains.

 Green social work, with its embeddedness in the realities of people’s lives and its holistic, social justice approach develops a new paradigm for critical theorists and practioners in social work as it is urging to include environmental justice as a part of social justice, putting emphasis on the interrelatedness and interdependency between the planet and its inhabitants (IFSW’s Climate Justice Progam; Dominelli 2019).

 Social Work practice and research meets a huge challenge in integrating these new environmental perspectives, working with behaviors and lifestyles as well as responding to the human and social consequences of climate change. Social workers need to become aware of and strengthen their knowledge about Climate Change in order to address the multiplicity of precursors to and consequences of Climate Change and prepare for a society in Climate Crisis.

 This paper addresses the possible roles and professional self-understanding of Social workers in relation to Climate Change through critical perspectives and empirically based studies. It reveals how Swedish social workers reason around Climate Change directly and indirectly affecting themselves and the people they are professionally engaged with and how they understand their own professional role. Social workers emphasize the importance of a holistic, collaborative, empowering and repoliticized social work, new strategies, appropriate arenas and possibly the need for a shift in perspective towards structural and community based social work.