Welfare state and ecological crisis: action-research perspectives towards sustainable social policies

The paper discusses the challenges of welfare environmental sustainability in social policy analysis and a methodological contribution on the matter. The concept of welfare sustainability arises from the growing awareness that welfare systems are an important driver of a unsustainable model of development. The emergence of this problem is linked to the increasing demands of social protection and the fiscal crisis of welfare states, giving rise to a sort of triple sustainability crisis. The paper briefly presents the main points discussed in the current debate, some criticisms about the latter, and few aspects of our research direction. Criticisms particularly point out a sort of reductionist trap in social policy analysis that makes it difficult to observe and deal with the kinds of social risks emerging from the climate crisis, their trans-contextual dynamics, the implications of transition processes, and the role of social contexts and organizational processes in making the welfare systems more or less ecologically sustainable or parasitical. The action-research approach is then briefly presented as a way promoted by our research group to contribute in the debate, supporting integrated experiences and research paths, as well as taking part in international programs and networks on the topic.