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Place-based inter-generational communication on local climate improves adolescents’ perceptions and willingness to mitigate climate change

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  • Sifan Hu

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Jin Chen

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Abstract

With the Paris Agreement, countries have pledged to promote strategies and policies to substantially reduce their carbon emissions. To align public sentiment with potentially expensive climate mitigation policy, climate change education is considered an essential tool in tackling climate change, particularly for the young generation. However, a general lack of engagement is driven by the perception that climate change is irrelevant at local and individual scales. Based on a modified version of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, we implemented a new climate change educational programme, in 12 rural areas of China, where adolescents communicated with local seniors (aged ≥ 60 years) in focus groups to discuss local climate over the past decades. Seniors’ memories of extreme climatic events generally were in concordance with meteorological data. The adolescents’ uncertainty about climate change exhibited significant change after the programme, followed by concern, risk perception, and perceived behavioural control. Based on mediation analysis, the shift in adolescent concern and perceived behavioural control translated into greater willingness to support climate change mitigation. Thus, we suggest that climate change education should emphasize place-based strategies that highlight the relevance of global climate change through local impacts and individual experiences vis-a-vis inter-generational communication to promote greater engagement with climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • Sifan Hu & Jin Chen, 2016. "Place-based inter-generational communication on local climate improves adolescents’ perceptions and willingness to mitigate climate change," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 425-438, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:138:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s10584-016-1746-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-016-1746-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Victoria Wibeck & Tina‐Simone Neset, 2020. "Focus groups and serious gaming in climate change communication research—A methodological review," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(5), September.
    2. Jiawen Cao & Jin Chen, 2021. "The Impact of an Authoritarian Personality on Pro-Environmental Behaviour for Air Pollution Mitigation through Interactions with Social Norms," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-20, September.
    3. Md. Nazirul Islam Sarker & Yang Peng & Most. Nilufa Khatun & G. M. Monirul Alam & Roger C. Shouse & Md. Ruhul Amin, 2022. "Climate finance governance in hazard prone riverine islands in Bangladesh: pathway for promoting climate resilience," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 110(2), pages 1115-1132, January.
    4. Karel Nepraš & Tereza Strejčková & Roman Kroufek, 2022. "Climate Change Education in Primary and Lower Secondary Education: Systematic Review Results," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-20, November.
    5. Marius BOTTIN & Ana Beatriz PIZARRO & Sara CADAVID & Luisa RAMIREZ & Sergio BARBOSA & Juan Gabriel OCAMPO-PALACIO & Benjamin QUESADA, 2023. "Worldwide effects of climate change education on the cognitions, attitudes, and behaviors of schoolchildren and their entourage. A systematic review," Working Paper 31da0f76-4d0c-4c12-9484-f, Agence française de développement.
    6. Andreas Ch. Hadjichambis & Demetra Paraskeva-Hadjichambi & Eleni Sinakou & Anastasia Adamou & Yiannis Georgiou, 2022. "Green Cities for Environmental Citizenship: A Systematic Literature Review of Empirical Research from 31 Green Cities of the World," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-30, December.
    7. Xueqi Wang & Jin Chen, 2022. "Fear emotion reduces reported mitigation behavior in adolescents subject to climate change education," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 174(1), pages 1-16, September.

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