Bridging awareness and action: How students in higher education view climate change

Abstract

Universities can build climate literacy and foster student participation in mitigation and adaptation, yet evidence that directly informs curriculum and pedagogy remains limited. This study examined university students’ perceptions of climate change occurrence and attribution, their level of concern, and their intended involvement in mitigation and adaptation. A cross-sectional survey captured responses from 1,002 students and included measures of perceived occurrence and causes of climate change, perceived risk, and intention to engage in mitigation and adaptation activities. Analyses included descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, and multiple regression. Results indicated generally moderate awareness of climate change and high concern about associated risks. A smaller subgroup reported low awareness and low concern. These findings suggest curricular strategies that enhance climate literacy, foster evidence-based reasoning about mechanisms and impacts, and provide structured opportunities for practice-oriented action, with targeted outreach to students who exhibit low awareness. The study advances understanding of student perceptions that matter for course and program design. It outlines actionable directions for universities that seek to embed climate competencies across general education and discipline-specific pathways.