Abstract
Identifying the determinants of human behavior is useful to adjust interventions and lead the civil society toward a stronger commitment to climate change (CC) mitigation and adaptation objectives, achieving greater support for successfully implementing environmental policies. Existing research has largely focused on case studies of pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) in developed economies but there is very little evidence for developing countries. This study provides estimations of the effect of internal factors, such as sociodemographic variables, and four psychological dimensions (CC knowledge, environmental attitudes, self-efficacy, and trust in sources of environmental information) on PEBs. Data were obtained through a survey applied with future decision makers – university students – from Colombia (n = 4,769) and Nicaragua (n = 2,354). Indices were generated for PEBs and the psychological dimensions using z-scores and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Partial correlations were evaluated through the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method. Our results suggest that, in order to reach the planned emission reduction targets, policy approaches should more strongly focus on educating and motivating citizens and prepare them for contributing to the environmental cause, as well as provide individual solutions to combat CC, rather than providing only information on its causes and consequences.
Highlights
As part of the commitment with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreements, developing countries have been increasing their responses to climate change (CC), especially since evidence suggests that the impacts of CC would have larger impacts in the global south, strengthening structural inequalities and leading to a vicious circle (Burke et al, 2015; United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2016)
Men possess significantly higher CC knowledge (p < 0.01), and no significant differences were found for both income and education level
This study examined the relationships of four psychological dimensions on Pro-environmental Behaviors (PEBs) of higher education students from two developing countries, Colombia and Nicaragua
Summary
The success of such approaches depends largely on the social norms, preferences, beliefs and values of the targeted individuals (Adger et al, 2009) Factors such as public awareness and knowledge of CC, attitudes and opinions regarding environmental problems, and knowledge about appropriate behaviors determine the public support or opposition of environmental or CC policies, strategies, and initiatives (Arcury, 1990; Leiserowitz, 2006; Lorenzoni et al, 2007; Howe et al, 2015). These studies have covered different groups such as students (e.g., Tikka et al, 2000; Spellman et al, 2003; Palavecinos et al, 2016; Salehi et al, 2016), consumers (e.g., Tobler et al, 2012a,b; Yadav and Pathak, 2016), citizens with diverse political and religious positions (e.g., Arbuthnot, 1977; Tobler et al, 2012b), professors (e.g., Pe’er et al, 2007) and communities related to recycling (e.g., Sidique et al, 2010)
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