Climate denial as disavowal: Applications for social work education and practice

Abstract

Eco-social work positions climate change as a core planetary boundary breach. It demands urgent attention from social work, as a profession which centralises social justice within its theory and practice. This article argues that social works’ engagement with climate change needs to be contextualised within broader societal narratives that shape experiences of climate disengagement. Conceptual tools, including societal climate management strategies and climate denial as disavow, are drawn on to illustrate the complexity of climate ambivalence and disengagement. They provide important opportunities to better understand experiences of climate disengagement, including their implications for social work practice.