(Re-)Imagining Social Work in the Anthropocene

The climate crisis poses an enormous challenge for the future, and there is a growing awareness that 'environmental problems are also social problems' (, p. 1649). This article argues that social work has both an opportunity and a duty to respond to this contemporary crisis, but these responses must be imaginative and courageous. The authors hope the article instigates a discussion around developing multiple practice frameworks and expand the scope of practice required for climate mitigation and adaptation. Additionally, the authors invite the reader to undertake a process of re-imaging, not only social work practice but also the current socio-political-economic climate in which we live. The ecological crisis, marked by the Anthropocene epoch, is having a major impact on the global ecosystem, and the consequences are predicted to become increasingly severe in coming decades. The turbulence and uncertainty of the crisis means social work must begin planning, reflecting and reorientating. The first half of the article contextualises the climate crisis within neoliberal capitalism, whereas the second half proposes alternatives for social work practice that attempt to exist outside these structures. We have argued that social work should have a greater focus on developing an eco-social transition which means engaging with alternative economic systems, intentional communities, community gardens and localism. These approaches can practically espouse the profession's values whilst beginning to conceptualise a response to the climate crisis that operates outside neoliberal capitalism.