Environmental Sustainability In Social Work
Contents
Comparison of Government initiatives in Saudi Arabia and Australia. 2
Figure 1.0 CO2 Emissions from Saudi Arabia. 2
Description of social work and how it contributes to carbon emissions. 6
Explanation of carbon reduction strategies in social work. 7
Analysis and evaluation of the carbon reduction strategies in social work. 7
Abstract
Environmental sustainability is a concept that seeks to achieve a balance between the needs of today and those of the future by implementing policies that contribute towards economic development and social justice and promoting and safeguarding the environment in all its forms. Remarkable, many governments are now committed to enhancing environmental sustainability in order to safeguard the environment to sustain societies and to support economies. As well, the role of social workers has become increasingly important in assisting to address the challenges faced in addressing the aforementioned issue. This paper addresses the issue of environmental sustainability particularly in relation to the problem of carbon emissions. First, the paper gives an overview of the different initiatives taken by governments in Saudi Arabia and Australia in enhancing environmental sustainability. Further, it gives a description of social work and how it contributes to carbon emissions. An explanation of carbon reduction strategies in employed in social work is also given. Finally, the paper analyses and evaluates these strategies as employed in social work.
Introduction
Environmental sustainability is accepted as an urgent and serious issue which is facing all countries and affects a wide range of citizens in all areas of life. There is broad agreement that there has been constant change in climate which is attributed to human activities, including activities that lead to carbon emissions to the atmosphere. The changes in climate pose a threat to our long-term prosperity and wellbeing (Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, 2011). As such, many governments around the world have come up with a carbon emission trading scheme (ETS) or a carbon tax. This has raised the need for organisations and institutions to plan how to reduce their carbon emissions and lower their carbon “footprint.” As well, this has raised the need for intervention of social workers whose view is that effective action on carbon emissions is not just about guarding against the long-term environmental dangers. Rather, social workers argue that there is need for improved production and consumption of energy sources (Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, 2011). This paper addresses the contribution of social work to carbon emissions. It further explains analysis and evaluates some of the strategies employed in social work to reduce these emissions. But first, it compares the initiatives taken by Saudi Arabian and Australian governments in enhancing environmental sustainability.
Comparison of Government initiatives in Saudi Arabia and Australia
According to the Oxford Business Group (2010), oil accounts for approximately 90% of Saudi Arabia’s revenue and 60% of its total GDP. Being the world’s largest producer of oil, Saudi Arabia has recorded a notable increase in level of carbon emissions in the past, as shown in the following figure:
Figure 1.0 CO2 Emissions from Saudi Arabia
Source: Boden, Marland, and Andres (2011)
Thus environmental sustainability initiatives meant to replace fossil fuels may appear to be against the country’s economic interests. However, a new attitude has emerged in Saudi Arabia and the country’s government has recently taken significant initiatives designed to diversify the energy mix in the country as well as to adopt more sustainable environmental practices. To start with, Saudi Arabia is a signatory to numerous international environmental agreements on hazardous wastes, marine life, and greenhouse effects. In 2005, it signed the Kyoto Protocol and according to the Oxford Business Group (2010), there are plans for the country to join the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). It hosted the first Gulf Environmental Forum in March 2010. At the local level, the Saudi government has taken new initiatives to enhance environmental sustainability awareness among the citizens, especially targeting women and children. This has been promoted through training and advisory services as well as operational support in the country focusing on the environment. The government has also come up with policies that focus on ensuring environmental protection and improvement, which are part of the country’s basic law (Fatani, 2010).
As well, Australia government has undertaken various initiatives to reduce carbon emissions. Similar to Saudi Arabia, the Australian government has signed numerous international environmental agreements on hazardous wastes, marine life, and greenhouse effects. There are several measures undertaken by Australian government which are unique from those undertaken by Saudi Arabian government. First, according to the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency (2011), there has been a significant increase in investments in clean energy production. For instance, the federal government of Australia invested $94 million in 50,000 Green Skills Training Places and in New Green Jobs. In addition, the government has introduced a carbon pollution reduction scheme which targets a range of 5 to 15 per cent reduction in emissions below 2000 levels by 2020 and 60% by 2050 (Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, 2011). The following data illustrates the projected reduction in carbon emissions in Australia from 1990 up to 2020:
Figure 2.0: Australia’s emissions trends, 1990 – 2020
Source: Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency (2011)
The federal government of Australia has also established a National Climate Strategy aimed at transforming the country into a green economy while promoting technologies that could be exported globally. The Australian government has also been supporting a range of complementary and supporting measures for households and industries such as energy efficiency audit programs reduce energy consumption.
The following figure gives a summary of the quarterly increase in the national inventory, the seasonally adjusted growth rates and quarterly change since June 2005.
Figure 3.0 National inventory, seasonally adjusted emissions growth rates, quarterly change.
Source: Department of climate change and energy efficiency (2011)
Description of social work and how it contributes to carbon emissions
Social work is a discipline or a profession which is rooted in the notions of formal caring and popular ideologies about informal caring for others and it originally focused primarily on kinship relationships. Non-government agencies such as Oxfam, Red Cross and Save the Children are civil society organizations that engage in social work practices on various issues such as poverty, disasters and health matters (Dominelli’s, 2010). Just like in other professions, various activities undertaken in social work lead to release of carbon emissions in the atmosphere. To start with the profession contributes to carbon emissions especially during transportation. Currently, almost all of the energy used during transportation in social work activities is petroleum based, including diesel, gasoline and jet fuel. Some of the sources of the transportation emissions are cars, freight trucks, trains, aircrafts and boats used by individuals and organizations engaged in social work practices. As well, social workers contribute indirectly to carbon emissions by the use of printers and papers consumed during printing (Dominelli’s, 2010). Carbon emissions are released during the production of electricity used by printers and in paper factories during production of the printing papers.
Explanation of carbon reduction strategies in social work
In the past, environmental issues have rarely been discussed or addressed in the mainstream of social work, as Dominelli’s (2010) notes. However, recently, the discipline has gained much importance in helping to address environmental problems that people wish to solve, taking into account the strategies advanced to solve the problems associated with the traditional lifestyles and customs of the people. With regard to carbon emissions reduction, the social workers help people to understand environmental issues and the impact of their actions and guide them on how to solve the problem of carbon emissions problem. One of the measures they employ is to mobilise people to protect their futures by promoting sustainable energy production (Dominelli’s, 2011). As well, social workers encourage people to adopt sustainable energy consumption trends by encouraging them to adopt the use of energy sources that release zero or near-to-zero carbon emissions. Finally, social workers propose various solutions to offset carbon emissions pollution.
Analysis and evaluation of the carbon reduction strategies in social work
As noted earlier, one of the carbon reduction strategies in social work is to mobilize people to protect the environment by promoting sustainable energy production. According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) (2009), fossil fuels such as coal natural gas and oil generate approximately two-thirds of the world’s electricity and produce one-third of the global carbon emissions. It is expected that the global prices of these resources will rise in future owing to the continued growth in demand and the rise in marginal extraction cost over time, which will further push up commodity prices as demonstrated in the following chart:
Chart 4.0 Energy commodity price assumptions
Source: Australian Government (2011)
Thus, social workers are continuously involved in encouraging the application of more advanced technology options which are more sustainable and will help to reduce carbon emissions from the use of fossil fuels. One of the options is fuel substitution by adopting the use of natural gas to produce electricity instead of coal. This would help to reduce carbon emissions per kilowatt-hour of electricity produced by a half. Second, social workers encourage efficiency improvement in carbon capture and storage, which according to ASME (2009), can translate directly into lower carbon emissions per kilowatt of electricity produced.
Social workers also encourage people to adopt sustainable energy consumption trends and reduce consumption of energy sources that release high levels of carbon emissions (ASME, 2009). They discourage the consumption of fossil fuels and promote the use of renewable energy technologies with far lower or near-zero emissions such as wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal and waste-to-energy sources. There are higher set up costs associated with some of these energy sources (ASME, 2009). However, there is certainty that with persistent efforts, goals for replacing high-carbon with low-carbon energy sources can be achieved with low costs in the long-run. Therefore, social workers are continuously encouraging people to increase the use of the renewable sources of energy.
Social workers also propose various solutions to offset carbon emissions. They encourage the implementation of technologies that will enhance economic growth and enable reduction in carbon emissions. The view of social workers is that businesses with less flexibility at the source should offset the impact by funding equivalent emission reduction technology such as energy efficiency, sequestration, or biomass and supporting policy recommendations elsewhere.
Conclusion
In conclusion, social work is a profession or a discipline that plays a leading role in addressing the issue of climate change and enhancing environmental sustainability. Social work activities such as transportation and printing contribute to carbon emissions. As noted, social workers play a great role in reducing carbon emissions pollution by implementing strategies such as mobilising people to protect the environment by promoting sustainable energy production and consumption and encouraging the implementation of available strategies to offset greenhouse gas emissions. The governments of Saudi Arabia and Australia have implemented various initiatives in enhancing environmental sustainability as demonstrated in the essay. These include being signatories to numerous international environment agreements which promote environmental sustainability and enhancing awareness of the need for environmental sustainability among citizens. The Saudi Arabian government has come up with various environmental sustainability policies which are part of the country’s basic law. On the other hand, the Australian government has introduced a carbon pollution reduction scheme, established a strategy to promote renewable energy consumption and has been supporting a range of complementary and supporting measures for households and industries meant to reduce energy consumption.
Glossary
Carbon “footprint” – The sum of all greenhouse gas emissions caused by person, product, an organization or an event
Carbon emission – the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as a result of burning fossil fuels such as oil, gas or coal
Carbon tax – An environmental duty levied on the carbon constituent of fuels
Environmental sustainability – Development that achieves the requirements of the present generation without adversely affecting the capacity of future generations to attain their own requirements
GDP – Gross domestic product
Kyoto Protocol – A global agreement associated with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Marine life – Plants and animals in the sea
Social work – A discipline or a profession which is rooted in the notions of formal caring and popular ideologies about informal caring for others
Annotated bibliography
Dominelli’s, L. (2011). Climate change: social workers’ roles and contributions to policy debates and interventions, International Journal of Social Welfare, 20(4): 430–438.
This article argues that the social work profession has an important role to play in: helping people understand the issues; promoting sustainable energy production and consumption; mobilizing people to protect their futures through community social work; and proposing solutions to greenhouse gas emissions as indicated in two case studies, one based on a community initiative in the Global South, and the other in the Global North. The article also demonstrates that social workers can foster climate change endeavors that are equitable for all, for example, the Equitable Carbon Sharing Scheme.
Dominelli’s, L. (2010). Social Work in a Globalizing World, Cambridge: Polity.
“Social Work in a Globalizing World” is a book by ‘Lena Dominelli’s which sets an ambitious agenda for social work and calls for international cooperation, alliances, and action alongside local efforts. Only then can its optimistic message of a viable end to the degradation of human beings and their physical environment be achieved.
References
ASME (2009). ‘Technology and policy recommendations and goals for reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the energy sector.’ Retrieved 30 December 011 from, http://files.asme.org/asmeorg/NewsPublicPolicy/GovRelations/PositionStatements/17971.pdf
Australian Government (2011). ‘Australia’s low pollution future.’ Retrieved 30 December 2011, from, http://www.treasury.gov.au/lowpollutionfuture/report/html/09_AnnexB.asp
Boden, T.A., Marland, G., & Andres, R.J., (2011). ‘Global, Regional, and National Fossil-Fuel
CO2 Emissions’ available from, http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/emis/tre_sau.html
Department of climate change and energy efficiency, (2011), ‘Tackling the challenge of climate change’ Australian Government, Barton, ACT, Available from, http://www.climatechange.gov.au/default.aspx
Dominelli’s, L. (2010). Social Work in a Globalizing World, Cambridge: Polity.
Dominelli’s, L. (2011). ‘Climate change: Social workers’ roles and contributions to policy debates and interventions.’ International Journal of Social Welfare, 20(4), pp. 430–438.
Fatani, R. (2010). ‘ICTs and Environmental Sustainability Report,’ Retrieved 30 December 2010 from, http://www.giswatch.org/country-report/2010-icts-and-environmental-sustainability/saudi-arabia
Oxford Business Group (2010). ‘Environment overview’ The Report: Saudi Arabia 2010. Riyadh: Oxford Business Group
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