Climate Change Knowledge Research Articles

Study protocol of the planetary health action survey PACE: a serial cross-sectional survey to assess the readiness to act against climate change

IntroductionClimate change is a paramount global health threat with multifaceted implications. Societal change is required to mitigate the negative effects of climate change, as well as help people adapt to...

Assessment of climate change knowledge of residents of informal sectors of Abuja Federal Capital City, Nigeria

ABSTRACT Urban informal settlement dwellers face uncertainties from climate change (CC) and need to understand its causes and impacts to adapt effectively. Few studies explore their levels of CC knowledge. This research surveyed 388 purposively selected households across five informal sectors in Abuja, Nigeria (Apo, Gaduwa, Garki, Jabi, and Mabushi), using structured questionnaires. Key variables assessed for their influence on CC knowledge included age, family size, education, income, livelihood type, tenure security, and marital status. Mann-Whitney and Chi-Square tests evaluated the significance of these factors. Findings showed that most households are aware of local CC trends, with perceptions closely aligning with scientific insights. However, understanding of CC causes and consequences remains limited. Among seven hypotheses tested, age, family size, income, and livelihood type significantly influenced CC knowledge, while education, tenure security, and marital status had little effect. The study highlights that even educated residents may lack comprehensive knowledge of CC causes. Enhancing scientific understanding in CC-prone communities is essential for effective adaptation and mitigation strategies.

The Effects of Climate Change Meta-Knowledge on Selective Exposure, Selective Elaboration, and Behavioral Intentions

This experiment investigates how individuals’ meta-knowledge (the self-perception of one’s knowledge) influences selective exposure to and elaboration of information about climate change with climate change self-schema as possible mediator. Participants’ ( N = 510) meta-knowledge was manipulated by receiving fake feedback after a climate change knowledge test. There were no group differences in selective exposure and selective elaboration. Correlational evidence tentatively speaks for a “rich-get-richer” process of information selection and elaboration. This could be explained through climate change self-schemas which differed significantly between conditions ( d = 0.26) and correlated positively with selective exposure ( r = .36) and elaboration ( r = .28).

The Association Between Corporate Environmental Sustainability, Environmental Awareness, And Job Pursuit Intention

Taiwan, renowned as a global leader in technology, boasts a manufacturing sector that accounts for more than 30%of its GDP. With the growing public knowledge of climate change, there has been a notable rise in environmental awareness among contemporary societies, influencing how businesses are perceived based on their environmental practices. This research targets potential job candidates in the tech sector, employing semi-structured interviews with individuals educated in engineering and related disciplines within Taiwan. It delves into three core questions, aiming to uncover: (1) whether individuals with environmental awareness prefer to work for committed companies to environmental sustainability; (2) if environmentally aware employees can facilitate the adoption of sustainable practices within their companies; and (3) whether a company's dedication to environmental sustainability enhances its appeal to prospective employees, thereby aiding in the recruitment and retention of top talent. Findings indicate that all participants are environmentally aware and eager to support workplace sustainability initiatives. Individuals with employment options often opt for companies with robust environmental reputations. Conversely, those encountering challenges in securing employment tend to prioritize immediate job availability over the environmental standing of the company. The study concludes with several recommendations to foster environmental awareness across various sectors, including government, media, businesses, educational institutions, and individuals.

Towards a Politics of Transgression in Environmental Education Research: Meta-review of a T-Learning Research ‘Archive’

Abstract The need for more radical forms of learning-centred transformation is increasingly recognised in transformations to sustainability. Yet these approaches to learning remain under-developed and undertheorised especially from a politics and environmental education research perspective. This paper offers a review of an emerging politics of transgression in environmental education research, as developed through an extensive T-learning (transgressive learning in times of climate change) knowledge co-production research programme, spanning eight years, and continuing. The ongoing problem that the research programme seeks to address is how to do transgressive learning in/as environmental education research in times where the fall out of coloniality and fossil capital collide in an increasingly regressive political landscape which Akomolafe and Ladha (2017, pg. 820) describe as “the deadening ideology of late-stage capitalism and its corollaries of patriarchy, rationalism, white supremacy and anthropocentrism.” Through the paper, I seek to highlight a “low theory” (Wark, 2021) of transgressive politics in environmental education research, embodied in practices of transgressive politics as movement in co-engaged T-learning research, which I illuminate through a meta-reflective curational process from the ‘archive’ or T-learning knowledge commons collection.

Bridging the Knowledge–Practice Gap: Assessing Climate Change Literacy Among Science Teachers

This research aimed to investigate the knowledge levels and teaching practices of Saudi science teachers regarding climate change, focusing on exploring the correlation between these aspects. The cross-sectional descriptive survey included teachers at middle and high school levels in public schools. The questionnaire study comprised three sections: collecting demographic data, assessing teachers’ understanding of climate change through factual inquiries, and evaluating teaching practices related to climate change. The findings reveal a promising degree of awareness among teachers, with a majority correctly identifying crucial elements of climate change while also exposing misconceptions and knowledge gaps. While a notable portion of teachers reported teaching climate change-related aspects, some indicated minimal involvement in extracurricular activities linked to climate change. The correlation analysis between science teachers’ climate change knowledge and practices indicates a weak connection between the two variables, suggesting that teachers’ knowledge might not substantially impact their actual teaching practices regarding climate change concepts. Limitations included reliance on self-reported data and a sample size that could impact result generalizability. Future research recommendations include combining quantitative data with qualitative methods, comparing knowledge and practices across regions or demographics, and conducting longitudinal studies. This study’s implications stress the importance of targeted professional development, advocating for climate change education integration into formal curricula, and policy adjustments mandating climate change education.

Exploring the role of national weather services in climate change knowledge and communication: an international survey

This study investigates the roles, perspectives, and communication strategies of National Meteorological Services (NMS) concerning climate monitoring, climate change projections, and the attribution of meteorological phenomena to climate variations. Using a survey distributed to 131 of the 193 National Meteorological Services affiliated with the World Meteorological Organization, we explore how these entities contribute to and communicate about the science of climate change. The survey targeted their involvement in observing and recording climate data, making climate projections, attributing specific weather events to climate change, and their methods of communicating these issues to the public and government officials. Responses were received from 44 countries, reflecting diverse levels of economic development and capabilities in handling, and disseminating complex climate information. The results show a strong engagement in traditional meteorological tasks, with a varied approach to the scientific study of climate change effects and public communication strategies. This study highlights the critical role of NMS in climate change research and underscores the challenges they face in effectively communicating complex climate information, which is crucial for public understanding and policymaking.

Training young co‐researchers to interview their parents: The transformative potential of intergenerational interviews

AbstractThe turn to co‐production in geographical research is underpinned by the social justice aim to democratise academic practice, and in recent years this has extended to training young people as co‐researchers. However, discussions of intergenerational dynamics in co‐produced research are limited, and there are no accounts of family members interviewing one another. This paper responds to this oversight by presenting a reflective account of a research project centring on intergenerational family discussions and negotiations of climate change knowledge, in which young co‐researchers interviewed parents. We share key considerations for developing bespoke interview training and preparing co‐researchers to undertake interviewing, and we highlight the strengths and opportunities of intergenerational interviews in families. Our core contention is that, when planned and supported with tact and consideration, intergenerational interviews can boost young people's confidence in their skills and generate rich dialogues that may lead to decisions and outcomes that will outlive the research. However, engaging co‐researchers and their pre‐existing familial relationships in research requires careful consideration, practical training, and ongoing reflection, because these relationships are defined by intergenerational dynamics that precede and outlast the research.

Impact of Climate Change Education on Pregnant Women's Anxiety and Awareness.

To evaluate the impact of climate change education on pregnant women's climate change awareness and anxiety. Quasi-experimental research with pre- and post-test design. This study was conducted among pregnant women who visited a tertiary maternity hospital between April and June 2023 to assess climate change awareness, perception, knowledge, behavioral and policy expectations, and anxiety before and after the introduction of climate change education. The first phase of the study was conducted by distributing a set of questions related to sociodemographics and completing the Climate Change Awareness Scale and the Climate Change Worry Scale, followed by climate change education where pregnant women were exposed to a brochure entitled "Pregnancy and Climate Change". After the intervention, pregnant women were assessed using the same questionnaire. There was a significant decrease in pregnant women's anxiety regarding climate change (p<0.001). Participants' awareness (p<0.001), perception (p<0.001), knowledge (p<0.001), and policy expectations regarding climate change significantly increased (p<0.001), while their anxiety levels decreased (p<0.001). The study suggests that climate change education may reduce climate change anxiety among pregnant women while also enhancing their awareness, and improving their perceptions, knowledge, behaviors, and policy expectations about climate change.

Climate change in Canadian civil engineering curricula: gaps and best practices

This study examines the state of curricula, knowledge, and practices in Canada’s civil engineering programs with respect to climate change, identifies best practices, and formulates recommendations on ways to improve climate change knowledge and skills training for Canadian civil engineering programs. A survey based on the Climate Framework was distributed to 856 civil engineering instructors across all 25 accredited engineering schools listed by Engineers Canada and gathered data on 55 civil engineering climate change related courses, with representation from 20 out of the 25 accredited programs across the country. The results of this study provide important benchmarks to help instructors incorporate most relevant climate change topics and resources into their courses for equipping civil engineering students with the necessary skills to tackle emerging challenges related to the mitigation of climate change and adaptation to wildfires, droughts, sea level rise, increased precipitation, storms, heat domes, floods, earthquakes, and biodiversity loss.

Measuring Nurses' Knowledge and Awareness of Climate Change and Climate-Associated Diseases: Systematic Review of Existing Instruments.

As early as 1995, the Institute of Medicine suggested that nurses were inadequately prepared for and educated about climate change and its health consequences. The aim of this systematic review is to identify the most reliable, robust, and valid instruments for measuring nurses' knowledge and awareness of climate change and climate-associated diseases. Included studies were appraised using the Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool and the Appraisal tool for Cross-Sectional Studies. The psychometrics and clinimetrics of the instruments were evaluated using the COSMIN Risk of Bias checklist and the COSMIN methodology for assessing content validity. Medline, PubMed, Embase, CINAHL Ebesco, Cochrane Library Wiley, Web of Science Core Collection, Trip Database, JBI OVID SP, GreenFILE EBSCO, Google Scholar, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, and DART-EU were consulted. The 14 studies retained identified eight different instruments evaluating attitudes, perceptions, environmental awareness, environmental sensitivity, environmental attitudes, behaviours, motivation, concern, optimism, and experience. This review is reported according to the PRISMA guidelines. The New Ecological Paradigm Scale (NEPS) and the Climate, Health, and Nursing Tool (CHANT) are the most reliable, robust, and valid instruments for measuring nurses' knowledge and awareness of climate change and climate-associated diseases.

Fostering adaptation to climate change among farmers in Pakistan: the influential role of farmers’ climate change knowledge and adaptive capacity

IntroductionAdaptation to climate change (ACC) is imperative to avoid deleterious consequences of climate change in agriculture. However, the uptake of adaptation measures has been slow among farmers because of low adaptive capacity (AC) in developing countries, particularly in Pakistan. Farmers and their supporting institutions have been successful in introducing technological innovations to respond and adapt to environmental challenges. The present study intended to determine the impact of farming technologies, along with human, financial, social, physical, natural, and climate information resources that support AC and hence ACC.MethodsThe study collected data from 360 farmers in Punjab through a multi-stage random sampling technique. A binary logit model and odds ratio were used to identify the factors affecting ACC. The study also utilized correlation tests to show the correlation between each pair of variables included in the analysis.ResultsThe results indicated that physical capital such as ownership of tube wells, transportation, and sowing and harvesting tools by the farmers builds farmers’ AC and consequently determines the ACC such as change crop variety (CCV), change crop type (CCT), change planting date (CPD), soil conservation (SC), water conservation (WC), and diversification strategies (DSs). The findings also revealed that human capital (age, education, family size, and labor), financial capital (off-farm employment, access to the marketing of produce, and agricultural credit), social capital (farmers-to-farmers extensions, access to extension services, and the farm association membership), and natural capital (land ownership, tenancy status, and the location of the farm) were importantly related to farm households’ ACC strategies. The odds (likelihood) of adaptation were higher for the users of farm technology as compared to non-users.DiscussionThe analysis conducted in this study showed that climate information resources amplify the adaptation to climate change: technology allows farming to be much more efficient, while climate change knowledge (CCK) self-motivates farmers to adopt more ACC measures. Our findings provide evidence that suggests the need to provide credits and financial support for farming technologies that speed up the ACC in the long run, while in the short run, climate information should be spread among farming communities.

Predictors of climate change literacy in the era of global boiling: a cross-sectional survey of Egyptian nursing students

BackgroundClimate changes have led to health and environmental risks, so it has become essential to measure climate change literacy among the entire population, especially nursing students. The significant role of nursing students in raising public awareness and future healthcare roles emphasizes assessing the predictors of climate change literacy among nursing students.AimsThis study seeks to identify the predictors of climate change literacy among nursing students in A Multi-Site Survey.DesignA multi-site descriptive cross-sectional study adheres to the guidelines outlined in A Consensus-Based Checklist for Reporting Survey Studies collected for five months, from the 1st of July 2023 to November 2023. The study participants comprise 10,084 nursing students from all 27 governments in Egypt. The researcher used the Predictors of Nursing Students’ Climate Change Literacy scale in this study. Data was collected, with 25 min average time to complete. Backward multiple linear regression was used to identify these predictors.ResultsIn the current study, nursing students demonstrated a moderate understanding of climate science (mean score 14.38), communication and advocacy skills (mean score 14.41), and knowledge of adaptation and mitigation strategies (mean score 13.33). Climate health impacts (mean score 17.72) emerged as the domain with the highest level of knowledge. No significant differences in climate literacy were observed across diverse student backgrounds (all p-values were > 0.05). Perceived faculty knowledge of climate change positively correlated with all four domains of climate literacy and emerged as a significant predictor in multiple linear regression analyses (all p-values were < 0.001).Implication.While our findings highlight significant predictors of climate literacy, it is essential to recognize that these results identify associations rather than causal relationships. Based on these associations, it is recommended that nursing professionals be equipped with comprehensive knowledge of climate adaptation strategies to better advocate for and implement effective public health measures.

(Un-)certain knowledge of pre-service geography teachers about climate change

Climate change education is a challenge for teachers, as they must have appropriate content knowledge to teach the topic adequately. Every teacher is confronted with both their own knowledge and non-knowledge, as well as with scientific knowledge and non-knowledge. The uncertainty about this knowledge depends on individual perception and can have an impact on teaching. In this study, the climate change knowledge and uncertainty about this knowledge of 226 pre-service geography teachers at four German universities were investigated using a questionnaire. Five different domains of knowledge about climate change are discussed, namely, knowledge about the (1) causes, (2) basics and (3) effects of climate change as well as (4) climate-friendly behavior and (5) the procedures of the climate sciences. The pre-service teachers answered most of the questions correctly (72.4%), and the anthropogenic nature of climate change is mostly recognized (91%). However, there are also gaps in knowledge, especially regarding action-related knowledge. Typical misconceptions about the greenhouse effect and ozone holes were identified. On average, 32.6% of all answers to all items were rated as “uncertain” by the participants. Male students scored significantly higher than female students. The results indicate a significant difference between the respondents’ university degrees in terms of knowledge. These results lay out the path for the possible improvement of university courses in the context of teachers’ knowledge about climate change.

Canadian Association of Radiologists Statement on Planetary Health Education in Radiology.

The health of Canadians is already impacted by climate change due to wildfire smoke, heat domes, floods, droughts, and the changing distribution of vector borne disease. The healthcare sector contributes to climate change, accounting for approximately 4.6% of annual greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. Healthcare teams have a responsibility and opportunity to reduce harm by limiting emissions and waste, and engaging the public in understanding the planetary health links between clean air and water, a stable climate, a healthy planet and human health. Transformation of Canadian healthcare to a low carbon, climate resilient system will be enhanced by physician engagement and leadership. Cornerstones to physician participation include knowledge of the anthropogenic etiology of the climate crisis, the human health impacts, and the contribution providing healthcare makes to the climate crisis. Integration of climate change knowledge into the Canadian Radiology educational curricula is essential to position radiologists to lead transformative change in mitigation and adaptation of the healthcare system to the climate crisis. This statement is intended to provide guidelines to optimize education and research for current and future Canadian radiologists, and builds on existing planetary healthcare education publications and the Canadian Association of Radiologists Statement on Environmental Sustainability in Medical Imaging.

Data-driven nexus between malaria incidence and World Bank indicators in the Mekong River during 2000-2022.

The increase in hydro dams in the Mekong River amidst the prevalence of multidrug-resistant malaria in Cambodia has raised concerns about global public health. Political conflicts during Covid-19 pandemic led cross-border movements of malaria cases from Myanmar and caused health care burden in Thailand. While previous publications used climatic indicators for predicting mosquito-borne diseases, this research used globally recognizable World Bank indicators to find the most impactful indicators related with malaria and shed light on the predictability of mosquito-borne diseases. The World Bank datasets of the World Development Indicators and Climate Change Knowledge Portal contain 1494 time series indicators. They were stepwise screened by Pearson and Distance correlation. The sets of five and four contain respectively 19 and 149 indicators highly correlated with malaria incidence which were found similarly among five and four GMS countries. Living areas, ages, career, income, technology accessibility, infrastructural facilities, unclean fuel use, tobacco smoking, and health care deficiency have affected malaria incidence. Tonle Sap Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, could contribute to the larval habitat. Seven groups of indicator topics containing 92 indicators with not-null datapoints were analyzed by regression models, including Multiple Linear, Ridge, Lasso, and Elastic Net models to choose 7 crucial features for malaria prediction via Long Short Time Memory network. The indicator of people using at least basic sanitation services and people practicing open defecation were health factors had most impacts on regression models. Malaria incidence could be predicted by one indicator to reach the optimal mean absolute error which was lower than 10 malaria cases (per 1,000 population at risk) in the Long Short Time Memory model. However, public health crises caused by political problems should be analyzed by political indexes for more precise predictions.

Cross-sectional study of the association of respiratory diseases health risk with environmental pollutants and climate change in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is known for its dry climate. This arid climate of the region makes its ecosystems highly susceptible, with limited water resources and vulnerable agricultural fields. Therefore, it is crucial to comprehend the public's awareness and perceptions of environmental issues and climate change that have an impact on their health and immune system. This study employed a cross-sectional survey to examine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) and related health impact of environmental pollutants and climate change in Saudi Arabia. The participants were chosen randomly from various regions across the kingdom. In this study, a total of 437 respondents were selected using convenience sampling (80.78% female and 19.22% male). Participants have fair knowledge on immunological and health effect of environmental pollution and climate change (94.3% and 87.5%, respectively). Participants are well aware of influence of environmental pollutants and climate change on spread of infectious diseases 51-94%. Significant correlation exists between participants of private sector in attitude domain of KAP (P = 0.003, χ2 = 5.139). Significant correlation exists between participants of private sector in attitude domain of KAP (P = 0.003, χ2 = 5.139. Participants are well aware of influence of environmental pollutants and climate change on spread of infectious diseases (51-94%). In conclusion, the health mission in Saudi Arabia has integrated order to manage the diseases that are related to climate change. It is crucial to enhance the knowledge and skills of general public regarding climate change and its impact on health.

Climate change education in semiarid and coastal regions of Mexico: towards an inclusive educational program

The study addresses climate change education (CCE) in Mexico’s semiarid and coastal regions, a strategy crucial for community adaptability and resilience. Emphasis is placed on the lack of educational materials adapted to the region and the need for active learning strategies in the school context to promote climate literacy and awareness of the phenomenon. We work with research groups and universities to create a climate change program for young students in underprivileged areas. We used a mixed method to assess the impact on climate change awareness and knowledge in urban and rural schools. The findings showed that concern, pro-environmental behavior, and knowledge about climate change significantly increased after the intervention. However, compared to the group that did not receive the intervention, we observed a decrease in hope related to climate change. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of contextualized and active educational programs in raising awareness of climate change in disadvantaged contexts and highlighting the importance of adding meaningful content to these communities and balancing it with local challenges and solutions.

Who are the green transition experts? Towards a new research agenda on climate change knowledge

AbstractExperts play a significant role in shaping global and local norms on how societies should respond to the climate crisis. However, current scholarship on the relationship between expertise and climate change has not fully addressed recent transformations in the field, specifically the emergence and increasingly influential role of what we term “green transition expertise.” We define green transition expertise as a more applied, normative, and contextual form of climate change knowledge that is contrasted with the formalized, pure science of “climate expertise.” If climate experts assess the deteriorating state of the global climate, then transition experts tell states and corporations what they should do about it. We argue that if the social science of climate change knowledge is to further deepen its grasp of the politics of the green transition analytically and normatively, it must embrace a “post‐IPCC” research agenda that turns increasingly toward studying the power of transition experts in directing state and corporate climate action. Based on a review of the literature, we contrast the extant IPCC agenda with an emerging post‐IPCC agenda along three dimensions: expert cast (who are the experts?), expert content (what do they know?) and expert context (where are they located?). By marking a shift in each of these dimensions, the post‐IPCC agenda sensitizes the social science of climate change knowledge to overlooked and increasingly powerful forms of experts and expertise. To facilitate their study, we define six specific areas that require detailed attention as the post‐IPCC agenda develops.This article is categorized under: The Social Status of Climate Change Knowledge &gt; Sociology/Anthropology of Climate Knowledge Policy and Governance &gt; National Climate Change Policy Climate, History, Society, Culture &gt; Ideas and Knowledge

Fossil fuel industry influence in higher education: A review and a research agenda

AbstractThe evolution of fossil fuel industry tactics for obstructing climate action, from outright denial of climate change to more subtle techniques of delay, is under growing scrutiny. One key site of ongoing climate obstructionism identified by researchers, journalists, and advocates is higher education. Scholars have exhaustively documented how industry‐sponsored academic research tends to bias scholarship in favor of tobacco, pharmaceutical, food, sugar, lead, and other industries, but the contemporary influence of fossil fuel interests on higher education has received relatively little academic attention. We report the first literature review of academic and civil society investigations into fossil fuel industry ties to higher education in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. We find that universities are an established yet under‐researched vehicle of climate obstruction by the fossil fuel industry, and that universities' lack of transparency about their partnerships with this industry poses a challenge to empirical research. We propose a research agenda of topical and methodological directions for future analyses of the prevalence and consequences of fossil fuel industry–university partnerships, and responses to them.This article is categorized under: Social Status of Climate Change Knowledge &gt; Climate Science and Decision Making Climate, Nature, and Ethics &gt; Ethics and Climate Change Social Status of Climate Change Knowledge &gt; Sociology/Anthropology of Climate Knowledge Social Status of Climate Change Knowledge &gt; Climate Science and Social Movements