ABSTRACT
Social workers work on the frontlines of communities, playing a crucial role in assisting communities and families in rebuilding their lives after natural disasters caused by climate change. This work will continue to be urgently necessary, but as the pace and impact of climate change accelerates, social workers must also use our skills to sound the alarm on climate change, collaborate with partners to provide solutions, mobilize communities to hold corporations and politicians accountable, and engage in, and amplify sustainable development that is economically and environmentally just. Green Social Work provides a global-local lens with which to understand these issues and enables social workers to collaborate with communities, families, and institutions to intervene in multiple system levels, grounded in social work values of social justice, self-determination, and inclusive communities that meet the needs of all members. Green Social Work provides a roadmap for transformational practice that enables the profession to build on its history and current practices to address the interrelated challenges of climate change and environmental justice through sustainable development. This chapter will describe the value of Green Social Work in tackling environmental justice and climate change through sustainable development framed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the global advocacy of the profession, and bolstered by core social work skills. Examples of how to integrate this content into social work education and practice will be provided.
