Opinions of 12 to 13-year-olds in Austria and Australia on the concern, cause and imminence of climate change
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REVIEW
Opinions of 12 to 13-year-olds in Austria and Australia on the concern, cause and imminence of climate change Inez Harker-Schuch Rebecca Colvin
, Steven Lade, Franklin Mills,
Received: 20 November 2019 / Revised: 9 February 2020 / Accepted: 14 June 2020
Abstract Early adolescence (12–13 years old) is a critical but under-researched demographic for the formation of attitudes related to climate change. We address this important area by exploring adolescent views about climate change. This paper presents opinions collected from surveys of 463 1st-year secondary school students (12–13 years old) in public secondary schools in innerurban centres in Austria and Australia on whether climate change is (1) something about which to worry, (2) caused by humans and (3) happening now. Eligible respondents in both countries showed similar levels of agreement that climate change was probably or definitely something we should (1) worry about (84.6% Austria, 89.1% Australia), which is significantly higher than either country’s adult population. Eligible respondents agreed that climate change probably or definitely is (2) caused by humans (75.6% Austria, 83.6% Australia) and that climate change is probably or definitely something that is (3) happening now (73.1% Austria, 87.5% Australia). Their response differed from the respective adult populations, but in opposite directions. Our results suggest that socio-cultural worldview may not have as much influence on this age group as it does on the respective adult populations and suggests that this age group would be receptive and ready for climate science education and engagement initiatives. Keywords Climate change opinion Climate science Early adolescence Worldview
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-020-01356-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
INTRODUCTION Despite more than 30 years at the forefront of the political and social agenda, meaningful climate change governance continues to exhibit disconnects between scientific knowledge, public knowledge and trust of climate science (Moser 2016). Aligning public opinions with the scientific consensus on the influence of anthropogenic climate change is an ongoing challenge for both science communicators and those who recognise the essential role the general public play in mitigation and adaptation (McBean and Hengeveld 2000; Moser 2016). Most studies (international and regional) (‘‘Gallup: Social Series’’ 2017; Steentjes et al. 2017) that provide context for this disconnect and measure adult public opinions show marginal changes in public opinion over time. Public opinion research has shown that the influence of worldview (defined by Dilthey as ‘‘an overall perspective on life that sums up what we know about the world, how we evaluate it emotionally, and how we respond to it volitionally’’ (translated by Makkreel 1975)) is the primary predictor for why adults are so resistant to changing their opinions and attitudes
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