COP18: Social work can mobilise community action on climate

COP18: Social work can mobilise community action on climate

COP18 (30/11/12) – Professor Lena Dominelli of the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) and Durham University explains the key role social workers can play in mobilising people to act on climate change.

Dominelli begins by discussing environmental justice, which she defines as using the earth’s resources to reduce poverty and ensure that everyone has a good standard of living without putting the wellbeing of future generations at risk.

Dominelli continues by explaining the interest of the International Association of Schools of Social Work in helping social workers and community development officers play a role in mobilising communities to adapt to and mitigate climate change.

Dominelli argues that our model of industrial and social development is out of date and needs global collaboration to enact a total transformation of our energy system, both in terms of how it is generated and in how fairly its usage is distributed.