Comparing Survey Results to Assess Climate Change/Global Warming Awareness, Perceptions and Beliefs of College Students in the United States and China

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1 Comparing Survey Results to Assess Climate Change/Global Warming Awareness, Perceptions and Beliefs of College Students in the United States and China Students: Chris Brown, Drew Christensen, Elora Leene, Dan Putman & Brittany Whited Faculty Mentor: Dr. Eric Jamelske University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Department of Economics Watershed Institute for Collaborative Environmental Studies Spring 2012 We gratefully acknowledge generous funding support from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Office of Research & Sponsored Programs, Blugold Commitment, Xcel Energy-Eau Claire and Northwestern Bank- Chippewa Falls

2 INTRODUCTION Climate Change (CC), a phenomenon entailing warming average global temperatures (global warming, GW) is an important and divisive national and international policy issue. Despite overwhelming scientific consensus and corresponding warnings (1, 2, 3), many people including policy makers still disagree about the reality of CC/GW and the degree to which human activities are responsible. Not surprisingly, there is also significant public and political debate about what action, if any, should be taken to address CC/GW. The debate is heightened by uncertainties regarding the relationship between human activities, CO2 emissions and CC/GW. In particular, it is difficult for the general public to accept that human actions are to blame, in part because taking action would likely require significant lifestyle changes with costs that are seen by many as prohibitive. Overcoming these obstacles will require building a consensus among the general population. More specifically, policy actions to address CC/GW will have to account for public perceptions and must be understood and accepted in order to be politically feasible and successfully implemented (4). Therefore, it is important to find out what people know, think, and believe across a spectrum of issues related to CC/GW. As a means to this end, we surveyed U.S. and Chinese college students about this important topic. The U.S. and China are of interest because they are disproportionately responsible for world CO2 emissions and college students are of interest because they represent the next generation of decision-makers. Similar surveys of this type have been conducted among a variety of populations, mostly in the U.S, and Europe (5, 6, 7, 8). However, to our knowledge this is the first survey to elicit responses from people in China regarding their views on CC/GW.

3 BACKGROUND China (21.9%) and the U.S. (17.7%) account for nearly 40% of world CO2 emissions. In fact, the next three top emitting countries (India, Russia, Japan) combined are just over 80% of U.S. CO2 emissions (Figure 1) (9). China and the U.S. are also two of the world s most populous countries, however with over 1.3 billion people, China is more than four times as large. This difference in population means that per capita emissions in China are only a fraction (28%) of U.S. levels (Figure 2). Thus, on average, U.S. lifestyles are significantly more dependent on fossil fuels and CO2 emissions than China (9, 10). The U.S. and China also represent the world s two largest economies with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of approximately $14 trillion and $10 trillion (2010, US$, PPP) respectively. However, in terms of energy usage, Chinese emissions per dollar of GDP are 2.2 times greater than in the U.S. (Figure 2) (9, 10). Thus, production in the U.S. is significantly more efficient than in China. The U.S. and China are also very different politically. First, the U.S. has a history of over 200 years of economic and political freedom. In contrast, China has been a communist state with strong political and social control for over 60 years. Although there have been significant reforms in China over the last 30 years, economic, political and social controls remain tight, especially compared to traditional Western standards (10). SAMPLE The U.S. sample of 826 students was obtained by conducting surveys at one university in each of four states; Arkansas (n=185), California (n=216), New York (n=169) and Wisconsin (n=256). The Chinese sample of 776 students was obtained by conducting surveys at one university in each of four provinces; Guangdong (n=222), Jiangsu (n=138), Shaanxi (n=225) and

4 Sichuan (n=191) provinces. Both samples are the result of convenient sampling relying on a group of professors at each institution arranging for students in their classes to complete the survey. The actual number of observations for each question analyzed varies slightly as some students did not respond to every question. Just under 60% of respondents in both countries were female and the average age in the U.S was slightly higher (23) than in China (20.1). In terms of race/ethnicity, 72% of U.S. respondents identified as White, while the remaining sample was Hispanic (8.9%), Asian (6.5%), Black (7.3%), American Indian (0.9%) and other (4.4%). Among Chinese students, 79.3% identified as Han, while 10.4% were non-han and 10.3% responded other. This sample is not a random sample and thus may not generalize to all college populations in both countries. However, efforts were made to ensure that respondents were reasonably representative of the overall U.S. and Chinese college student populations, particularly in these states/provinces. Students at all eight institutions were sampled from large general education classes with mostly first and second year students from a variety of majors. The higher average age in the U.S. reflects some non-traditional students, however the vast majority of respondents in both countries were traditional college-age students. RESULTS & DISCUSSION Over 85% of Chinese students believe that CC/GW is happening compared to just over 75% of U.S. Students. This difference emerges because of a higher degree of uncertainty among U.S. students (Figure 3). Nearly all Chinese students that reported CC/GW was happening believed the causes were primarily due to human activities, while there was a significant drop off among U.S. students (Figure 4).

5 Chinese students also report that CC/GW will negatively impact people in their country sooner with 55% saying right now or in five years compared to only 38.1% of U.S. students. Once again, more U.S. students report that they are not sure (Figure 5). The differences were even larger when students were asked about their understanding of CC/GW science. Just over half of U.S. students believe there is a consensus among scientists that CC/GW is happening compared to nearly three-quarters of Chinese students (Figure 6). There is almost no drop-off in the number of Chinese students that believe there is scientific consensus that CC/GW is primarily caused by human activities, while only 40% of U.S. students believe there is such a consensus among scientists (Figure 7). A slight majority of students in both countries feel that successful action to address CC/GW should be driven by government legislation/regulation, while more Chinese students say action should be voluntary and more U.S. students report being unsure (Figure 8). Students in both countries show strong support for joining an international agreement to reduce CC/GW, however support is higher in China (88.5% > 79.8%). Support for joining an international CC/GW agreement remains strong in both countries even if the other country does not join (Figure 9). Differences emerge again in terms of what issues students see as the most important for their government to focus on. The economy is most important to U.S. students with the environment a distant second (35.3% > 14.7%), whereas in China, the economy (22.5%) barely edges out the environment (22%) (Figure 10). Chinese students also report a significantly greater level of familiarity with both national and international polices to address CC/GW. It is particularly troubling that 70.3% of U.S. students report being not at all or not very familiar with international policies (Figure 11).

6 Finally, when asked how much they think about CC/GW and how important the issue of CC/GW is to them personally, it is very clear that Chinese college students are significantly more thoughtful and concerned about this important issue than their counterparts in the U.S. (Figures 12, 13). This project provides insight into the awareness, perceptions and beliefs of young adults in the U.S. and China regarding CC/GW. Overall, Chinese students report a significantly greater awareness and understanding of issues pertaining to CC/GW. These results have meaningful implications for future national and international CC/GW policies. However, additional research is needed to fully understand the factors leading to the different responses from the next generation of decision-makers in these two important countries. In particular, future research with this data could examine differences in responses based on age, gender, college major and region of residence in both the U.S. and China. It would also be interesting to explore differences in U.S. attitudes and beliefs regarding CC/GW issues based on the political ideology of college-age respondents.

7 Figure 1 Figure 2

8 Shaanxi (oops)

9 Graph Legend (Figures 3 13) Figure 3 Figure 4

10 Figure 5

11 Figure 6 Figure 7

12 Figure 8 Figure 9

13 Figure 10

14 Figure 11

15 Figure 12 Figure 13

16 REFERENCES 1. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2007). Climate Change Synthesis Report: The Fourth Assessment. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, England. 2. Oreskes, Naomi (2004). The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change. Science. v. 306, pg Lewandowsky, Stephen (2011). Psychological Science. v. 22(4), pp Lorenzoni, Irene and Pidgeon, Nick (2006). Public Views on Climate Change: European and USA Perspectives. Climate Change, v. 77, pp Feldman, Lauren; Nisbet, Matthew C.; Leiserowitz, Anthony and Maibach, Edward (2010). The Climate Change Generation? Survey Analysis of the Perceptions and Beliefs of Young Americans. Yale University and George Mason University. New Haven, CT. Yale Project on Climate Change Communication Leiserowitz, Anthony; Maibach, Edward; Roser-Renouf, Connie and Smith, Nicholas (2011). Global Warmings Six Americas, May Yale University and George Mason University. New Haven, CT. Yale Project on Climate Change Communication Rabe, Barry G. and Borick, Christopher P. (2010). The Climate of Belief: American Public Opinion on Climate Change. Issues in Governance Studies. Number 31. Brookings Institute, Washington, DC. 8. Reser, Joseph P.; Pidgeon, Nick; Spence, Alexa; Bradley, Graham; Glendon, Ian A. and Ellul, Michelle (2010). Public Risk Perceptions, Understandings and Responses to Climate Change in Australia and Great Britain. National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia United States Department of Energy, Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center CIA World Factbook.