Social work, climate change and environmental justice: Assessing claims of social work’s transformative role

Abstract

Considering increasing policy and scholarly claims that social work operates at the frontline of climate change, disaster response and environmental justice, this paper critically examines whether such claims are supported by empirical evidence. It addresses the central question of whether social work demonstrates a transformative, evidence-based role in advancing environmental outcomes. Drawing on a critical review of the environmental social work literature, the paper identifies a significant imbalance between normative and conceptual scholarship and empirically grounded research. It argues that, although social work has been influenced by environmental movements and contributes to related areas such as community development, disaster response and advocacy, its overall impact remains limited and insufficiently substantiated. The paper concludes that social work is better understood as a profession indirectly engaged with environmental issues rather than a leading or transformative environmental actor, and it outlines the types of empirical evidence required to support stronger claims regarding its role.