Environmental awareness is widespread among 15-year-old students, but only a minority report taking positive actions to protect the environment. Both awareness and actions are related to socio-economic status: 88% of students in the most advantaged quartile and 68% of students in the least advantaged quartile report being aware of climate change, while only 40% of advantaged and 33% of disadvantaged students report taking at least one pro-environmental action.
Individuals with a tertiary qualification are more likely to report a strong sense of responsibility to contribute to efforts to reduce climate change than those with lower educational attainment.
In nearly all OECD countries, 18-24 year-olds are more likely to acknowledge that human activity causes climate change than 25-64 year-olds. The exceptions are Czechia, Israel and Hungary.
Education at a Glance 2024
Addressing climate change is one of the paramount and immediate global challenges of the 21st century. As explored in previous OECD work, education can equip individuals and their communities with the tools to critically analyse the challenges associated with climate change, encourage innovative solutions and foster a mindset that drives not just individual actions but also collective efforts toward a greener and more resilient future (Nusche, Fuster Rabella and Lauterbach, 2024[1]). It is the conduit through which informed decisions and meaningful actions can be orchestrated to address the complex web of environmental issues stemming from climate change (Rodrigues et al., 2019[2]).
Understanding students’ perspectives about climate change proves valuable in gauging their preparedness to engage in action. Their attitudes toward climate change serve as a reference for their ability to contemplate and conscientiously respond to environmental concerns. Pro-environmental attitudes are both a good predictor of students’ adoption of environmental actions and also a motivation for these actions in Table A6.1 in the Methodology section of this Chapter (OECD, 2022[3]).
The environmental outcomes of education are challenging to measure for several reasons. First, surveys typically focus on individuals' intentions rather than their actual behaviour, so it is important to be mindful of the potential values-action gap between reported environmental behaviours and the actual ecological consequences of an individual’s actions (Hadler et al., 2022[4]). Second, there may be misconceptions about the impact of different behavioural choices in reducing individual greenhouse gas emissions, with even pro-environmentally minded individuals mostly engaging in low-impact changes that are easy to implement rather than high-impact ones that might take more effort or be more costly. Finally, it is important to note that individuals are constrained in their behaviour by broader financial and infrastructural factors, which may explain why emissions-related actions are often related to socio-demographic characteristics.
Among OECD and partner countries participating in the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the share of 15-year-olds from advantaged socio-economic backgrounds who are aware of climate change is on average 20 percentage points higher than the share of those from disadvantaged backgrounds. In around one-quarter of countries, the gap is 27 percentage points or more.
The proportion of individuals who personally consider climate change and other environmental issues to be important is generally higher among those with higher levels of educational attainment.
Caution is needed when interpreting results from different survey sources. When the data were collected is an important factor in measuring environmental awareness and action. The PISA data were gathered in 2018 and thus predate important factors influencing how youth perceive and react to the world and climate change such as the Fridays for Future movement.
In addition, caution must also be used when comparing the results on environmental awareness or action across countries, since each country (and even regions within countries) have different reactions to and priorities related to climate.
Academic research by Meyer (2015[5]) and Grandin et al. (2022[6]) highlights a strong correlation between environmental awareness, acknowledgement, attitudes and actions and both educational attainment and socio-economic background. Individuals with higher educational attainment and from more advantaged socio-economic backgrounds tend to be more pro-environmental in each of these four areas. This is further supported by the work of Casaló and Escario (2018[7]).
The 4As framework provides a comprehensive lens through which to assess the cognitive and behavioural dimensions that shape an individual's interaction with the environment:
Awareness of environmental issues refers to an individual's grasp and perception of environmental situations, as well as their anticipation of future developments.
Acknowledgement of environmental issues refers to the societal norm or acknowledgment of environmental issues that shapes individual perspectives.
Attitudes towards environmental issues encompass the emotions and beliefs moderated by an individual's value system that influence their attitude towards environmental issues.
Action on environmental issues is the outward expression of an individual's attitudes through their actions and behaviours in addressing environmental challenges.
Using this comprehensive framework, this chapter aims to explore individuals’ orientation towards environmental issues and how this manifests across these four dimensions, based on two main surveys. It uses data from the PISA 2018 survey to analyse awareness and actions, covering 15-year-old students, while the analysis of attitudes and acknowledgement draws on adults’ responses to Round 8 of the European Social Survey (ESS), the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) and national surveys.
Box A6.1 provides more recent insights into the 4As from the perspective of household behaviour, based on data from the OECD Environmental Policies and Individual Behaviour Change (EPIC) Survey 2022. In interpreting these results, it is worth noting that people who participate in surveys may tend to minimise their poor environmental behaviours and attitudes (Aydin and Kalburan, 2019[8]).
Gauging environmental awareness requires evaluating an individual's level of knowledge about the evidence on climate or environmental issues, and how they perceive it. Students who are familiar with climate change and global warming tend to be aware of these issues, which marks the initial stage in fostering pro-environmentalism.
Research indicates that students from more affluent socio-economic backgrounds exhibit greater awareness of environmental challenges than their counterparts from lower socio-economic strata (Grandin et al., 2022[6]). PISA 2018 evaluated this awareness through a module asking students about their knowledge of climate change challenges and global warming. Across all the countries that participated in this module, the analysis aligned with current literature, finding that advantaged students exhibited greater awareness of environmental challenges compared to disadvantaged students (Figure A6.1).
Figure A6.1 shows that, on average 88% of students from advantaged backgrounds, based on the PISA index of economic, social and cultural status (ESCS), are aware of climate change compared to only 68% of disadvantaged students. While there is variation across OECD countries for both socio-economic levels, the clear and consistent gap in all countries may highlight disparities in educational resources and lack of equitable support in integrating environmental education into curricula at a national level. In around half of the OECD and partner countries participating in PISA 2018, the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students is 21 percentage points or more (Figure A6.1).
Although there is a significant gap in environmental awareness by socio-economic status, there is no clear gender gap. On average among OECD member and partner countries, 79% of boys and 78% of girls report a level of awareness of climate change challenges (Table A6.1).
Acknowledgement moves beyond awareness by integrating perceived knowledge about climate change and the environment into an individual’s unique perspective. Acknowledgement can be assessed by looking at individuals' perceptions of environmental challenges and the actions that would lead to environmental protection.
On average, among the OECD countries participating in the ESS Round 8 in 2016, 38% of those with below upper secondary attainment acknowledge that climate change is mainly or entirely caused by human activity, compared to 45% for those with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment and 54% for tertiary attainment. In almost all the participating countries, individuals with below upper secondary attainment are less likely to acknowledge the fact that climate change is caused mainly or entirely by human activity than those with greater educational attainment. In all of these countries except Slovenia, tertiary-educated individuals are more likely to acknowledge this fact than those with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment. Of the countries using data from national surveys or the ISSP, tertiary-educated adults are the most likely to acknowledge that climate change is mainly or entirely caused by human activity in New Zealand and the United States, but the opposite is the case in Korea, although the difference by educational attainment is relatively small (Figure A6.2).
25-64 year-olds; in per cent
1. Year of reference differs from 2016. Survey question also differs from that used in ESS. Refer to the source table for more details.
Countries are ranked in descending order of the share for adults with below upper secondary attainment acknowledging human activity causes climate change.
See Table A6.2 for data and under Chapter A6 Tables for StatLink. For more information see Source section and Education at a Glance 2024 Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes (https://doi.org/10.1787/e7d20315-en).
On average, among the OECD countries participating in the ESS Round 8, 53% of 18-24 year-olds acknowledge that climate change is mainly or entirely caused by human activity, compared to 46% of 25-64 year-olds. The shares are higher for the younger age group than the older in nearly all OECD countries except Czechia, Hungary and Israel. The difference between age groups is most pronounced in Norway where 57% of 18-24 year-olds acknowledge that climate change is caused mainly or entirely by human activity, compared to only 37% of 25-64 year-olds (Table A6.2).
Measuring individuals' attitudes towards the environment is important because attitudes provide insight into the emotions and beliefs that make up an individual’s value system. Building upon awareness and acknowledgement, pro-environmental attitudes imply that environmental issues have been integrated into individuals’ value systems, in turn suggesting they would be more likely to take action to protect the environment and lead a sustainable life.
Figure A6.3shows the degree to which adults are motivated to mitigate climate change based on their self-reported responsibility score in the countries participating in the ESS Round 8 or, in the case of the United States, the ISSP. A score of 0 indicates no sense of responsibility towards mitigating climate change, while a score of 10 indicates the strongest sense of responsibility. Adults in France and Switzerland report the highest scores, while those in Czechia, Estonia and Hungary report the lowest (Table A6.3).
The higher the educational attainment of individuals, the greater their motivation towards climate change mitigation efforts. However, the differences are small: less than 2 points between individuals with below upper secondary education and those with tertiary education. Notably, Czechia is the only country where tertiary-educated adults give a score lower than 4 regarding their sense of responsibility; in most countries, the score among those with tertiary attainment is over 6 (Figure A6.3).
The average score for 25-64 year-olds across OECD countries is 5.9, while the average score for 18-24 year-olds is slightly lower at 5.7. This contrasts with the common belief that younger individuals tend to be more pro-environmentally oriented. Although, on average, younger individuals have a stronger understanding of the human causes of climate change, they report less motivation to contribute to solutions. However, in some countries like Estonia, 18-24 year-olds surpass their older compatriots, with an average score of 5, compared to 4.4 for 25-64 year-olds (Table A6.1).
25–64-year-olds; in per cent
Note: Scores range from 0 to 10, with 0 indicating a complete lack of responsibility towards reducing climate change.
1. Year of reference differs from 2016. Survey question also differs from that used in ESS. Refer to the source table for more details.
Countries are ranked in descending order of the mean score among adults with below upper secondary educational attainment.
See Table A6.3 for data and under Chapter A6 Tables for StatLink. For more information see Source section and Education at a Glance 2024 Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes (https://doi.org/10.1787/e7d20315-en).
When individuals take a conscious step to protect the environment, that means they are also aware of the challenges posed by climate change and global warming, they acknowledge these challenges and they have the attitude to want to change them.
On average across the OECD countries that participated in the PISA module on climate change, 40% of advantaged and 33% of disadvantaged students had taken at least one action to fight against climate change (Figure A6.4). This 7 percentage-point difference between socio-economic groups is much smaller than the 20 percentage-point difference in awareness and suggests that engagement in environmental action is fairly low across all socio-economic backgrounds. Taking action to tackle an issue means overcoming more obstacles and making more efforts than being aware of it, making it harder to transform awareness into action. As Hadler and colleagues (2022[4]) claim, there are gaps between environmental attitudes and behaviour, and between environmental behaviour and the actual ecological impact of the actions concerned (see Box A6.1). Understanding the potential obstacles and their implications for turning awareness into action and action into impact could have a transformative effect in reducing the mismatch between people’s intentions and their impact on the environment through education ( (OECD, 2022[3])
Household consumption can have a significant impact on the environment. The OECD Survey on Environmental Policies and Individual Behaviour Change (EPIC), conducted in nine countries (Belgium, Canada, France, Israel, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States), explores the factors influencing household decisions and the self-reported effects of policies on these decisions (OECD, 2023[9]). The survey includes data on energy use, transportation, waste management and food consumption. The key findings of a descriptive analysis of the data include:
Energy: Adoption of renewable energy and low-emission technologies is relatively low, with fewer than one-third of households for whom installation is possible installing heat pumps (30%), solar panels (29%) or battery storage (27%).
Transport: On average 75% of households report that at least one household member uses a conventional car on a regular basis while 54% of respondents indicate that better public transport would encourage them to use cars less.
Food consumption: Households’ main reported priorities when buying food are affordability (64%), taste (61%), freshness (60%) and nutritional value (54%). Less than 25% indicate that environmental impacts are a top priority.
Waste practices: Although 83% use reusable shopping bags, fewer engage in buying items second-hand (37%) or renting instead of purchasing (22%). Households with recycling services produce 26-42% less non-recyclable waste, and those charged for waste disposal compost 55% of their food waste compared to 35% among those who are not charged.
The EPIC dataset covers over 17 000 respondents and provides insights into households’ socio-economic characteristics, as well as their environmental knowledge, actions and the barriers they face in making more sustainable choices. Disaggregating responses to these questions by level of educational attainment provides an indication of the impact of education on people’s knowledge about and beliefs surrounding environmental issues, as well as their environmentally related behaviours.1
Figure A6.5 shows that the share of individuals who consider climate change or other environmental issues to be personally important to them is generally higher among those with tertiary educational attainment. This observation holds for all the countries surveyed although differences between those with tertiary education and lower educational attainment vary by country. These differences by attainment level appear most pronounced in the United States, where the difference in the share reporting environmental concern between those with and without tertiary attainment is 18 percentage points, followed by the United Kingdom, where it is 14 percentage points. In general, however, higher levels of educational attainment are associated with greater awareness and acknowledgement of climate change and other environmental issues.
As well as environmental concern, a number of other attitudes toward the environment can be considered important for fostering sustainable behaviour. Figure A6.5 shows responses to three additional questions about environmental attitudes: whether individuals are willing to make compromises in their lifestyle to benefit the environment, whether they agree that environmental action can have economic benefits and whether they disagree with leaving it to future generations to address environmental issues. Consistent with the findings presented elsewhere in this chapter, Figure A6.6 indicates that tertiary educational attainment tends to correlate with more pro-environmental attitudes.
There is a clear difference between individuals with and without tertiary education with respect to their stated willingness to make lifestyle compromises across all the countries surveyed, although it is important to note that this difference may also stem from differences in other factors such as income levels (Panel a). Tertiary attainment also appears to be associated with the belief that environmental action can generate economic benefits (Panel b). However, when it comes to inter-generational responsibility for addressing environmental issues the pattern is more complex (Panel c). In the majority of countries surveyed, a larger proportion of individuals with tertiary educational attainment believe that these issues should not be left for future generations to deal with. This pattern is reversed in the United States, while there is no significant difference by educational attainment in France and the United Kingdom (Panel c). In general, shares in Panel c are relatively lower than in Panels a and b, indicating less positive attitudes overall to not leaving environmental issues for future generations to tackle, regardless of attainment levels. Given the pressing nature of climate change and environmental challenges, these views highlight the need for individuals of all ages to continue learning about sustainability to support intergenerational approaches to climate action.
Panel b: Share of those responding “agree” or “strongly agree” to the statement "Protecting the environment can boost the economy"; in per cent
Panel c. Share of those responding “disagree” or “strongly disagree” to the statement "Environmental issues should be dealt with primarily by future generations"; in per cent
Age group: Although there is explicit reference to 18-24 year-olds throughout this chapter, the term adult is used only in reference to 25-64 year-olds, or to 25-54 year-olds when referring to EPIC data.
Educational attainment refers to the highest level of education successfully completed by an individual.
Levels of education: See the Reader’s Guide at the beginning of this publication for a presentation of all ISCED 2011 levels.
Student socio-economic status: The PISA index of economic, social and cultural status (ESCS) is a composite measure that combines the financial, social, cultural, and human capital resources available to students into a single score. It is derived from three variables related to family background: parents’ highest level of education, parents’ highest occupational status and home possessions, which includes items like books in the home.
Table A6.1: Environmental awareness refers to the percentage of students who reported knowing about or being very familiar with climate change and global warming; pro-environmental actions refer to the percentage of students who reported having engaged in activities that are beneficial to the environment; and students' socio-economic status is measured by the PISA index of economic, social and cultural status (ESCS).
The five actions included in PISA are the following:
Action 1: I reduce the energy I use at home (e.g. by turning the heating down or turning the air conditioning down or by turning off the lights when leaving a room) to protect the environment.
Action 2: I choose certain products for ethical or environmental reasons, even if they are a bit more expensive.
Action 3: I sign environmental or social petitions on line.
Action 4: I boycott products or companies for political, ethical or environmental reasons.
Action 5: I participate in activities in favour of environmental protection.
While Actions 1 and 5 reference direct pro-environmental behaviours, Actions 2-4 may be more broadly described as actions related to pro-environmental advocacy. Distinguishing between the nature of these actions is integral to understanding the gaps between attitudes, action and impact.
Table A6.2: Data from the European Social Survey (ESS) Round 8 on individuals who attributed climate change mainly or entirely to human activities in response to the question: “Do you believe that climate change is a result of natural processes, human activity, or a combination of both?” The answer options were:
Entirely by natural processes.
Mainly by natural processes.
About equally by natural processes and human activity.
Mainly by human activity.
Entirely by human activity.
I don’t think climate change is happening.
Refusal.
Don’t know.
Note that the reported levels of acknowledgement are lower than in other recent OECD surveys exploring climate change (Dechezleprêtre et al., 2022[10]). This discrepancy may be partly due to changes in public opinion since 2016, as well as the fact that acknowledgement in this case only includes respondents who believe climate change is “entirely” or “mainly” caused by human activity, and not those who believe it has both human and natural causes.
Table A6.3: Average scores of adults who answered the question in the European Social Survey (ESS) Round 8: "To what extent do you feel a personal responsibility to try to reduce climate change?" Respondents could give a rating from 0 (no felt responsibility) to 10 (great felt responsibility) reflecting their felt personal responsibility. The data in the table show the mean score provided by individuals.
Table A6.4 (available on line): Data from the EPIC survey on:
Importance of environmental issues: Data are based on Question 23 “How important are each of the following issues to you personally?” The selected answer for Table A6.4 (available on line) is the following: “Climate change or other environmental issues”.
Responses to environmental statements: Data are based on Question 29 “To what extent do you agree with each of the following statements?” The following answers were selected and analysed for Table A6.4 (available on line):
I am willing to make compromises in my current lifestyle for the benefit of the environment.
Protecting the environment can boost the economy.
Environmental issues should be dealt with primarily by future generations.
For more information see Education at a Glance 2024 Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes (https://doi.org/10.1787/e7d20315-en).
Data from PISA are from the special module in the 2018 round. Data from the ESS are from Round 8. Data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) are from 2020. Data for New Zealand come from their 2023 national Environmental Issues, Awareness and Action survey. Data from the Environmental Policies and Individual Behaviour Change (EPIC) survey are from the third round. For more information see Education at a Glance 2024 Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes (https://doi.org/10.1787/e7d20315-en).
References
[8] Aydin, O. and C. Kalburan (2019), Measuring Environmental Attitudes and Behaviours Through Surveys, https://doi.org/10.33422/2nd.icmef.2019.11.727.
[7] Casaló, L. and J. Escario (2018), “Heterogeneity in the association between environmental attitudes and pro-environmental behavior: A multilevel regression approach”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 175, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.11.237.
[10] Dechezleprêtre, A. et al. (2022), “Fighting climate change: International attitudes toward climate policies”, OECD Economics Department Working Papers, No. 1714, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/3406f29a-en.
[6] Grandin, A. et al. (2022), “Socioeconomic status, time preferences and pro-environmentalism”, Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 79, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101720.
[4] Hadler, M. et al. (2022), “Measuring environmental attitudes and behaviors”, in Surveying Climate-Relevant Behavior, Palgrave Macmillan, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85796-7_2.
[5] Meyer, A. (2015), “Does education increase pro-environmental behavior? Evidence from Europe”, Ecological Economics, Vol. 116, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.04.018.
[1] Nusche, D., M. Fuster Rabella and S. Lauterbach (2024), “Rethinking education in the context of climate change: Leverage points for transformative change”, OECD Education Working Papers, No. 307, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/f14c8a81-en.
[9] OECD (2023), How Green is Household Behaviour?: Sustainable Choices in a Time of Interlocking Crises, OECD Studies on Environmental Policy and Household Behaviour, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/2bbbb663-en.
[3] OECD (2022), Are Students Ready to Take on Environmental Challenges?, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/8abe655c-en.
[2] Rodrigues, M. et al. (2019), Scaling Up Place-Based Strategies to Strengthen Community Early Childhood Systems, Spring Impact, https://www.springimpact.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Exec-Summ_Scaling-up-place-based-strategies_Dec2019_FINAL.pdf.
Cut-off date for the data: 14 June 2024. Any updates on data can be found on line at http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-data-en.
Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018; 15-year-old students
Note: See under Chapter A6 Tables for StatLink and Box A6.2. for the notes related to this table.
Source: OECD/ILO/UIS (2024). See Source section for more information and Education at a Glance 2024 Sources Methodologies and Technical Notes (https://doi.org/10.1787/e7d20315-en).
European Social Survey (ESS) Round 8, International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) 2020 or national surveys; 25-64 year-olds
Note: See under Chapter A6 Tables for StatLink and Box A6.2. for the notes related to this table.
Source: OECD/ILO/UIS (2024). See Source section for more information and Education at a Glance 2024 Sources Methodologies and Technical Notes (https://doi.org/10.1787/e7d20315-en).
European Social Survey (ESS) Round 8, International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) 2020 or national surveys; 25-64 year-olds
Note: See under Chapter A6 Tables for StatLink and Box A6.2 for the notes related to this table.
Source: OECD/ILO/UIS (2024). See Source section for more information and Education at a Glance 2024 Sources Methodologies and Technical Notes (https://doi.org/10.1787/e7d20315-en).
Table A6.1 Share of students reporting awareness and actions of climate change and global warming, by students' socio-economic status and gender (2018)
Note: Environmental awareness refers to knowing about or being very familiar with climate change and global warming. Environmental actions refer to having engaged in activities that are beneficial to the environment. Students' socio-economic status is measured by the PISA index of economic, social and cultural status (ESCS). Standard errors and a breakdown of students by international ESCS decile are available for consultation on line. Countries with missing data are those which did not participate in the corresponding PISA module. See Definitions and Methodology sections for more information.
Table A6.2 Share of adults acknowledging human activity causes climate change, by educational attainment, gender, country of birth and age group (2016)
Note: See the Methodology section for information on the questions asked in the different surveys. Caution should be used when comparing data from different data sources and different survey years. Columns showing data by age group are available for consultation on line (see Chapter A6 Tables under for StatLink).
1. Year of reference differs from 2016: 2023 for New Zealand; 2020 for Korea and the United States.
2. New Zealand lacks comparable data for the given questions but has survey-based information for related questions. Specifically, it has data on the share of adults who consider climate change important and motivations for reducing environmental impact, which differ from the exact measures in the European Social Survey (see Education at a Glance 2024 Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes, https://doi.org/10.1787/e7d20315-en). Additionally, New Zealand's data cannot be fully mapped to the ISCED categories, with totals only provided.
Table A6.3 Mean scores for adults’ motivation to mitigate climate change, by educational attainment, gender, country of birth and age group (2016)
Note: See the Methodology section for information on the questions asked in the different surveys. Scores range from 0 to 10, with 0 indicating a complete lack of responsibility towards reducing climate change. Columns showing data by age group are available for consultation on line (see under Chapter A6 Tables for StatLink).
1. Year of reference differs from 2016: 2020 for the United States.
Please refer to the Reader's Guide for information concerning symbols for missing data and abbreviations