Young Students’ Knowledge, Attitude and Practice towards Climate Change

Abstract

Climate change is undisputedly one of the most significant problems in the world. CO₂ emissions are getting higher by the hour. Bahrain’s kingdom has obligations to reach zero emissions by 2060. The Bahrain climate championship was conducted in Manama to raise the awareness of the community as a whole. The target is to bring the youth’s attention to the alarming matter. This paper examined students’ knowledge, attitudes and practices related to climate change using pre-and post-questionnaires. The majority of the surveyed students have poor knowledge about climate change. However, the post-questionnaires naturally show reasonable improvements. This means that students have benefited from the climate championship conducted in Bahrain and the enrichment unit provided. Similarly, few significant improvements were noticed in students’ attitudes and practices towards climate change. This research utilised the climate change champions conducted in Bahrain to disseminate the KAP questionnaire of this research.

1. Introduction

Climate change is considered one of the most challenging problems facing people and the planet. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines climate change as how the atmosphere changes over sometime, decades or longer, whether natural processes or human activity are the cause or not. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defines climate change as a shift in climate and evolution in the atmosphere’s composition due to human activity. Climate change has long-term effects caused by industrialisation and rapid global development. This can impact man, animals and plants adversely. The latest Human Development Report (HDR) calls on world leaders to make bold steps to reduce the tremendous pressure on the environment and the natural world. Otherwise, humanity will pay a high price. The importance of implementing sustainable, eco-friendly solutions is not overstated. Major nations and international leaders, such as the United States, have proposed tight regulations and encouraged individuals to engage in environmentally friendly actions to reduce pollution. Governments and giant technical corporations should not be the only ones involved in this endeavour. It is a team effort; everyone plays his part to make a massive difference, to reach a solution.

The Arabian Gulf countries are concerned about climate change, especially the adverse effects on agriculture, food and water security, infrastructure resilience, public health and the environment. The World Bank designated the Kingdom of Bahrain and the other Arabian Gulf countries as the highest per-capita emitters of CO₂. In the case of Bahrain, the CO₂ emissions reached 21.6 metric tons per capita in 2020. This high rank is essentially due to Bahrain’s massive energy uses compared to its population. The population of the Kingdom of Bahrain is 1.5 million [1].

Governments were urged at COP 26 to provide comprehensive and global climate change education for their citizens, particularly those in their youth. Climate change poses the greatest threat to youth in small island states and other vulnerable countries. Young people can provide innovative solutions to climate change and should participate in decision-making [2].

A youth council for climate change was created in the Arab countries in 2021 to amplify the youth’s voice and empower youth engagement in assessing climate change issues and generating innovative solutions to the problem [3]. In addition, the 27th COP is planned for Egypt, and the 28th COP is slated for the United Arab Emirates [2, 4].

His Highness Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s crown prince and prime minister, represented Bahrain at the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26). The Kingdom of Bahrain is responsible for only 0.07% of global emissions. His Highness emphasised that Bahrain will set an example. Among the plans Bahrain has for 2060 is a net-zero goal. By 2035, Bahrain intends to reduce its CO₂ emissions by 30 per cent, double the amount of renewable energy it uses, and expand the coverage of mangroves and trees [5].

Additionally, Bahrain is making significant efforts to engage youth in climate change awareness activities. Fifty (50) students from different universities across the kingdom of Bahrain were invited to participate in a “Climate Champions” event. This is a part of the active citizenship program to support climate change solutions with creative ideas [6]. This research intends to investigate the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding climate change among university-level students.

2. Literature review

RFD et al. [7] conducted a cross-sectional study that adopted a knowledge and attitude questionnaire using a convenience sample of 1059 nursing students. The students’ representatives were from four Arab countries (Saudi Arabia, Palestinian, Egypt and Iraq). The results indicated a moderate knowledge about climate change and an average attitude towards the environment. Saudi and Palestinian students scored significantly better in knowledge than Iraqi and Egyptian students [7].

Kumar et al. [8] distributed a survey to 120 students in the Allahabad district in India to evaluate the level of global warming awareness. The results indicated that the vast majority (61.67%) showed an average awareness of global warming. At the same time, there was also a low-slung level (21.67%) and a high level (16.66%) of awareness of global warming. A significant relation was observed between the level of awareness and education. Ultimately, the study highlighted the need to impart knowledge and encourage a positive attitude towards ecological issues among university students [8].

Ibrahim et al. [9] applied a descriptive cross-sectional research design to assess Assiut University students’ global warming knowledge and attitude. A convenient sample of 1300 students from different faculties was included. Their study utilised a modified environmental issues questionnaire with a Likert scale. The study found that most of the respondents had poor knowledge. Also, most of the students had a positive attitude towards global warming. This gap in knowledge of global warming must be addressed! Ibrahim et al. [9] highly recommend integrating various environmental themes into the curriculums for all students in the education cycle.

On the other hand, a study was conducted in Japan and Caribbean countries in 14 communities. The study applied mixed methods. That study aimed to assess that region’s Knowledge, Attitude and Practice. A KAP survey was conducted in 10 districts; in addition to group discussion in four communities, 88% of the respondents were either highly concerned or somewhat concerned about climate change phenomena. Most (93%) were familiar with climate change, but not all could define its meaning correctly. The respondents lacked comprehensive knowledge of climate change, its causes and its impact [10].

Additionally, several KAP studies were conducted in GCC, in the United Arab Emirates. Two studies were conducted at universities. The first study aimed to investigate university students’ KAP level towards Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and the environment. The data were analysed using descriptive analysis and a t-test. The study revealed that UAE university students expressed high environmental knowledge and attitudes. Also, they showed good environmental behaviour [11]. The second study was conducted on 280 students from three universities in the Emirate of Ajman. The KAP survey was analysed using Wilcoxon Rank Sum, Kruskal -Wallis and Spearman Correlation tests. The results showed that the majority (82%) had sufficient knowledge; (78%) had good environmental attitudes, and only (8.2%) showed eco-friendly practices. The study proved a positive correlation between knowledge and attitudes and a negative correlation between knowledge and practice [12].

Furthermore, Freije et al. [13] conducted a study to assess global warming awareness among science students at the University of Bahrain. One hundred and forty-three students were surveyed. The participants studied four majors: Biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics. The number of students was 51, 28, 40 and 24, respectively. Most of the study samples (133) were females aged 18–24. Their findings indicate that biology students studying in related academic curricula had the highest knowledge of global warming about its three claims, causes, effect and solutions. The study emphasised the need to expose all students to a wide range of environmental theories in their core curricula, regardless of their specialised area, to make them more aware of ecological issues [13].

The third communication report assigned an education group to conduct a particular study about climate change knowledge. The study involved 391 students in their primary stage, fourth and fifth grades. The study elaborated on pre-and post-questionnaires to measure the knowledge of climate change. The questionnaires were conducted pre and post-an enrichment programs. The study was conducted following the implementation of six enrichment programs, tutor training and teaching of students. A total of 16 teachers (eight males and eight females) were trained to be ready to apply for the six units during the second semester of 2017 and 2018. Student awareness improved significantly after completing the enrichment units [14]. Although a limited number of initiatives engaged the youth, the number of climate change awareness events is still limited to date. This research calls for an increase in the number of activities and events to enhance the awareness of youth and individuals’ climate change topics.

3. Methodology

This research paper uses the KAP questionnaire to measure the awareness of climate change among the participants. The questionnaire contains three main parts: knowledge, attitude, and practice. The paper also refers to the “Personal Information” part at the beginning. The personal information part requests information about gender, age, nationality, university name and specialisation at university and high school. This is followed by twenty-four (24) questions regarding knowledge of climate change employing yes/no questions and selecting from a list and occasionally free-response questions. Open questions are obtainable in four scenarios. The scenarios are the number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the number of Bahrain National Determined Contributions (BHR-NDCs), the National Communication Report (NCR) and the explanation of carbon footprint.

Thirteen (13) questions about attitudes towards climate change are included in the third part. A Likert scale that ranges from 1 to 5 was utilised, with one (1) representing strongly disagree and five (5) representing strongly agree. Disagree, unsure and agreed were the remaining two (2) to four (4) scales, respectively.

Again, Likert scale (always- sometimes- never) is used in the fourth part, which includes fifteen (15) questions—the questions contract with “practice” towards climate change. Additionally, a closed-ended question is added towards the end of this part to investigate students’ desire to learn topics related to climate change. The question provides several topics to pick from. The list included eleven (11) climate change topics. In addition, A KAP questionnaire is administered at the beginning and end of the climate champion event (pre and post).

Google Forms are used to encode the KAP questionnaire in Arabic and English versions. KAP questionnaire and statistical analysis treatments are also performed. Data is collected and analysed using an Excel spreadsheet and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 26.0 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp). SPSS offers frequencies and percentages for the items in each KAP aspect. T-tests, Chi-squares, cross-tabulations and the latest version of Microsoft Excel (MS) Sheet are used to gather and analyse the data.

4. Results and discussion

4.1 The study sample

38 out of 50 students from 10 universities participated in the pre-and post-KAP questionnaires. Around half (48%) of the participants of Climate Champions were from the University of Bahrain (UOB), 13% from Polytechnic Bahrain (PB) and the rest from nine other universities. The percentage of female participants was higher than that of males; 66% of the sample were females, and 76% of participants were Bahrainis. All participants graduated from secondary school; most of them studied was unified track–science (84%) (Figure 1). All participants were between 19 and 38 years old, and 86% were less than 26 years old. Therefore, the sample of the study is from the youth segment.

Figure 1.

Characteristics climate champions participants based on their major in secondary schools.

Also, the sample of this study targeted multiple specialisation disciplines in different academic years. 55% were students in the science field (pharmacy, physics, biology and information technology), and 34% were engineering students (Figure 2). Third-year university students were the highest percentage (53%). In contrast, the fourth-year- and second-year-level university students were 26% and 21%, respectively. 100% of participants thought they had a good or excellent knowledge level of climate change (Figure 3).

Figure 2.

Characteristics of the climate champions participants based on their major in university.

Figure 3.

Climate champions’ responses regarding their climate knowledge level from their point of view.

4.2 The level of Knowledge regarding climate change

The results of the pre-event KAP questionnaire showed that 84% of the respondents used the Internet as the primary source for obtaining information related to climate change. Social media comes second with 81.5%. School or university ranked third with 71%, and environmental associations were rated with 42%. Family, friends, magazines and newspapers were viewed as the lowest percentage as a source of climate information (26%) in the pre-KAP questionnaire (Figure 4). On the other hand, the post-event KAP questionnaire showed that 92% of the respondents chose environmental associations as the main source for obtaining information related to climate.

Figure 4.

Climate champions’ responses regarding their source of information about climate change.

In comparison, 89% of participants chose social media, making it the second choice. School or university was selected by 74% of the participants, and 53% of them selected the Internet as a source of information. Newspaper magazines were chosen by 34%, and family and friends were chosen by 32%.

Figure 5 illustrates the improvements in students’ knowledge regarding climate change due to the enrichment units. All students recognised the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the post-questionnaire, compared to 66% in the pre-questionnaire and 63% new carbon footprint in both questionnaires. Only 5% of students recognised the three National Communication Reports (NCR) in the pre-questionnaire. In contrast, 21% of students knew the “NCR” by answering “Yes” in the post-questionnaire. Only 8% of students viewed the Nationally Determined Contributions “NDCs” reports summited by Bahrain in the pre-event questionnaire and only 13% in the post. None knew VNR in the pre-questionnaire, and only 21% recognised it in the post-questionnaire.

Figure 5.

Climate champions’ knowledge about most reported climate change responses of Bahrain.

Most respondents considered the climate change phenomenon as dangerous and that must be addressed (92% in the pre-event questionnaire and 97% in the post-event questionnaire). In contrast, few students thought that climate change deserves attention. Most respondents believed climate has changed in the past few years (89.55% in pre- and 75% in post-questionnaire). In comparison, some thought it was still going through a slow change phase (10% in the pre-and 23% in the post-questionnaire). Only one respondent believed that the climate did not change in the post-questionnaire. In addition, 92% of respondents knew that human factors are the reason for climate change. They also knew that the leading cause is the increase in GHGs; 73% in the pre-questionnaire increased to 81.5% in the post-questionnaire.

There was an enhancement in the respondents’ knowledge; 95% figured that the recent concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was not 200 parts per million in the post-questionnaire compared to 16% in the pre-questionnaire. 53% of respondents knew that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) also belong to the GHGs. More than 30% knew that carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane are GHGs. 29% of respondents only knew that water vapour (H₂O) is considered a GHGs, and few respondents did not realise that sulphur (S) and lead (Pb) are not GHGs even in the post-questionnaire.

In the post-questionnaire, sixty-six percent (66%) answered that the Paris Agreement calls for reducing emissions of GHGs for all countries of the world, whereas 16% believed the “Paris Agreement call” was only for developed countries.

In the post-questionnaire, the mean of climate change knowledge increased to 60% (acceptable), compared to the pre-test, where it was relatively low (46%). The training and lecture positively impacted the level of knowledge of climate change, even with limited training timing in the enrichment unit. These findings are consistent with what was mentioned in the study of educational groups in Bahrain’s third national communication report.

A period sample t-test was performed to confirm the pre- and post-questionnaire variance in the Knowledge level regarding climate change. Results show that the p-value is 0.004 < 0.05. A significant difference was observed between the levels of Knowledge before and after conducting the enrichment unit; correlation coefficient r = 0.456 (Table 1).

Period sample t-test		T-value	Correlation	P-value
1	Pre-knowledge & post-knowledge	−7.603	0.456	0.000
2	Pre-attitude & post-attitude	−2.273	0.605	0.029
3	Pre-practice & post-practice	−3.016	0.363	0.005

Table 1.

Results of period sample t-test for pre- and post-KAP questionnaire.

4.3 The level of Attitude regarding climate change

In the pre-and post-questionnaire, a period sample t-test was performed to measure the differences among Attitudes towards climate change. The mean increased from 4 to 4.2 (agree to strongly agree). The p-value for the period sample t-test for the pre-and post-questionnaire Attitude level was 0.00 < 0.05; therefore, a significant difference was found between Attitudes in the pre and the post (Table 2).

#	Attitude towards climate change	Pre								Post
		Strongly agree	Agree	Not sure	Disagree	Strongly disagree	Mean	SD	Agreement level	Strongly agree	Agree	Not sure	Disagree	Strongly disagree	Mean	SD	Agreement level
1	I would use public transportation to reduce emissions.	5	14	16	0	3	3.47	1.0060	Agree	13	15	8	1	1	4	0.958	Agree
2	I would rather use energy-saving light bulbs.	30	6	0	1	1	4.71	0.654	Strongly agree	26	9	3	0	0	4.61	0.638	Strongly agree
3	It is preferable to reduce water subsidies to reduce excessive consumption.	10	9	7	7	5	3.32	1.397	Not sure	12	10	6	4	6	3.47	1.447	Agree
4	It is preferable to reduce electricity subsidies to reduce excessive consumption.	10	12	6	6	4	3.47	1.330	Agree	15	8	6	4	5	3.631	1.441	Agree
5	It is better to replace fossil fuel-based energy with renewable energy.	23	9	6	0	0	4.45	0.760	Strongly agree	21	11	6	0	0	4.39	0.754	Strongly agree
#	Attitude towards climate change	Pre								Post
		Strongly agree	Agree	Not sure	Disagree	Strongly disagree	Mean	SD	Agreement level	Strongly agree	Agree	Not sure	Disagree	Strongly disagree	Mean	SD	Agreement level
6	I think decreased water use will reduce the fuel consumption for desalination.	11	14	13	0	0	3.95	0.804	Agree	16	13	7	2	0	4.13	0.905	Agree
7	Recycling organic waste reduces greenhouse gasses emissions.	21	9	6	0	0	4.39	0.755	Strongly agree	22	12	3	1	0	4.45	0.7604	Strongly agree
8	It is important to protect blue carbon areas (mangroves and seagrasses).	27	7	4	0	0	4.61	0.679	Strongly agree	25	11	2	0	0	4.61	0.594	Strongly agree
9	I do not encourage cutting vegetation (trees—shrubs—grass—flowers…).	26	8	3	1	0	4.55	0.760	Strongly agree	26	9	2	0	1	4.55	0.828	Strongly agree
10	I do not think that climate change affects the spread of epidemics and diseases.	5	5	8	8	13	3.50	1.390	Agree	5	6	7	5	15	3.39	1.516	Agree
11	I think that the spread of “Corona, COVID-19” has reduced greenhouse gasses emissions.	16	17	6	0	0	4.29	0.694	Strongly agree	16	14	5	0	2	4.08	1.075	Strongly agree
12	I’m thinking about working in an institution with a good environmental record in the future.	18	13	7	0	0	3.47	1.006	Agree	21	12	4	0	1	4.37	0.883	Strongly agree
13	I would like to buy an electric car in the future to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.	26	7	3	0	2	4.71	0.654	Strongly agree	23	10	4	1	0	4.45	0.795	Strongly agree
	Overall mean						4.06	0.9145	Agree						4.2	4.164	Strongly Agree

Table 2.

Attitude towards climate change in pre- and post-KAP questionnaire.

The results show a positive Attitude towards climate change; for example, the majority (more than 90%) strongly agrees with replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy. In the future, many respondents would like to work for a company with an excellent environmental record and buy an electric car to reduce GHGs emissions. Half of the respondents support reducing water and electricity subsidies.

4.4 The level of Practice towards climate change

Students were asked to rate their Practice towards climate change. The overall mean of ratings of friendly environmental Practices changed from “sometimes” to “always”. Period sample t-test has performed the p-value for the Practice level in the pre- and post-questionnaire. Accordingly, there was a significant difference between Practice levels in the pre-questionnaire (Mean = 2.25, SD = 0.612) and post-questionnaire (Mean = 2.48, SD = 0.580), conditions: T(37) = −3.016, P-value = 0.011.

In the pre-questionnaire, 26% of respondents (10) always use eco-friendly products, which increased to 42% (16) in the post-questionnaire; students may have better understood what eco-friendly products are after the enrichment unit and climate champions activity, which could have led some students who initially said they sometimes use eco-friendly products to change their answer to always. Or else, students may have started using more eco-friendly products after the enrichment unit. This could have been due to several factors, such as learning about new products or being more motivated to make environmentally friendly choices. Also, in the pre-questionnaire, most respondents never used public transportation or grew plants, but they changed their habits in the post-questionnaire to use public transportation some of the time and grow plants that require less water. Almost all respondents always turn off the air conditioner and lights before leaving the place, and they also rationally use water in both questionnaires. Students regularly participate in climate change campaigns. Most respondents were always interested in reading about climate change in the post, while they were sometimes spent only in pre.

The study you are referring to found that students’ ratings of their environmental practices changed from “sometimes” to “always” after completing a climate change education intervention, which suggests that the climate change education intervention effectively increased students’ awareness of the importance of environmental practices and motivated them to make more environmentally friendly choices. The intervention may have also helped students to develop a better understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change.

Chi-square tests of independence were performed to measure the relationship between participant age group and Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP). There were no significant relationships found between age group, Knowledge (Chi-square = 9.182, df = 9, p-value =0.421) and Attitude (Chi-square = 2.867, df = 3, p-value =0.408) or Practice (Chi-square = 4.708, df = 3, value =0.189).

Chi-square tests of independence were performed to measure the relationship between nationality and Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP). No significant relationship exists between nationality and Knowledge (Chi-square = 1.397, df = 3, p-values = 0.143) nor between nationality and Practice regarding climate change (Chi-square = 2.138, df = 1, p-value = 0.076). However, there was a significant relation between nationality and Attitude towards climate change (Chi-square = 8.478, df = 3, p-values = 0.037) for Bahrainis (69% agree, 21% strongly agree, 10% not sure). Bahrainis were likely more agree with positive Attitudes compared to non-Bahrainis.

Chi-square tests of independence were performed to measure the relationship between gender and the KAP. The results show that there was a relation between gender and Attitude (Chi-square = 14.198, df = 2, p-values = 0.027). There was no significant relation between gender and Knowledge (Chi-square = 0.310, df = 2, p-value =0.85) nor gender and Practice (Chi-square = 2.409, df = 6, p-values = 0.300). The female responses were strongly disagree =0%, not sure = 15.5%, agree = 69%, strongly agree = 15.5%, while the male participants’ responses were strongly disagree =4%, not sure = 4%, agree = 56%, strongly agree = 36%.

Chi-square tests of independence were performed to measure the relationship between significance in secondary school and KAP (Chi-square = 33.56, df = 12, p-value = 0.001). There was a significant relation between the major in secondary school and Attitude. The unified track science respondents’ 32 participants’ responses were 33.5% strongly agree, 70% agree, 3.5% not sure.

The level of awareness regarding Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice (KAP) among undergraduate students was poor in the pre-KAP questionnaire but improved to be acceptable in the post. They were poor in the depth of scientific Knowledge regarding climate change, as shown in Figure 6. In the post-questionnaire, 63% got more than 60%, up from 13% in the pre-questionnaire in the knowledge section. As a result of the enrichment unit and activities in Climate Champions, students’ Attitudes towards climate change have improved significantly, from “agree” to “strongly agree” and acting climate-friendly Practices from “sometimes” to “always”.

Figure 6.

Knowledge, attitude and practice levels in pre- and post-KAP questionnaires.

The respondents’ knowledge of climate change was evaluated as “poor” in the pre-event questionnaire (PRE). The respondents’ evaluation improved to be acceptable in the post-event questionnaire (POV). The reason for improving respondents’ knowledge could be the activities provided between the two events, PRE and POV. An intensive one-week program provided by the British Council in the form of the “active citizen program” has given its results. The youth respondents were fed with climate change knowledge and encouraged to provide awareness sessions to schools and multiple projects during six (6) months. One of these projects is the “Watergy” proposed by the students that implements an idea to collect the water produced by air conditioners in special tanks to be used using solar panels, to save water and produce energy, simultaneously. An environmental enrichment unit was provided at the end of the 6 months. As a result of the enrichment unit and activities in Climate Champions, students’ Attitudes towards climate change have improved significantly, from “agree” to “strongly agree” and acting climate-friendly Practices from “sometimes” to “always”.

According to the PRE questionnaire, respondents gained knowledge about climate change mainly from the internet, whereas they gained information primarily from environmental associations for the POE questionnaire. In other studies, the primary source of information was radio or TV [10, 15].

Bahrainis and non-Bahrainis reported similar percentages of attitudes towards climate change. This excellent result indicates that Bahrainis (69% agree, 21% strongly agree, 10% not sure) and non-Bahrainis (33% agree, 56% strongly agree, and 11% disagree) have a “responsible” attitude towards climate change. Researchers and climate practitioners/activists must exploit this fact to spread the responsibility towards climate change as a model for others to follow [3, 15].

No statistically significant differences were found between the “age group” and the level of knowledge regarding climate change issues or the attitude or behaviour (see results (above)). This could be because the majority, 86% of the student’s age, is less than twenty-six (26). Therefore, the respondents’ age group is very close. These results are reflected and found in other studies [15, 16].

Findings suggest that there is a shortage in the knowledge of university students. Their awareness level regarding climate change is rated “Poor”. In comparison, their knowledge can be described as very poor. 63% of the surveyed students scored less than 60% in the knowledge section of the KAP. This might be due to the lack of climate change topics in the science and mathematics curricula in the governmental sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain. 74% of the participants chose “sometimes” when they were asked about their practices towards climate change, such as using eco-friendly products, reducing red meat consumption, sorting their waste in the recycle bins, replacing hard copies with soft copies and preferring distance learning to save the environment. 84% of them always turn off lights and air conditioners (AC) before leaving home and rationalise water usage (Table 3). Some Attitudes towards climate change were negative, such as unwillingness to reduce subsidies for water and electricity (73%). Other types of Attitudes were positive, including welling to protect blue carbon areas such as mangroves and seagrasses and preferring to work in an institution that acts towards the environment in the future (Table 2).

	Practice towards climate change	Pre							Post
		Always	Sometimes	Never	Mean	SD	%	Agreement	Always	Sometimes	Never	Mean	SD	%	Agreement Level
1	I use eco-friendly products.	10	27	1	2.24	0.490	75	Sometimes	16	21	1	2.39	0.547	80	Always
2	I rationalise water usage.	21	16	1	2.53	0.557	84	Always	23	15	0	2.61	0.495	87	Always
3	I grow plants that need less water.	10	18	10	2.00	0.735	67	Sometimes	22	15	1	2.55	0.555	85	Always
4	I make sure to turn off the Air Conditioner (AC) before leaving the room.	32	5	1	2.82	0.457	94	Always	32	6	0	2.84	0.370	97	Always
5	I make sure to turn off the lights before leaving the house.	33	5	0	2.87	0.343	96	Always	33	5	0	2.87	0.343	96	Always
6	I reduce red meat consumption.	15	18	5	2.26	0.685	75	Sometimes	18	16	4	2.37	0.675	79	Always
7	I use public transportation.	4	10	24	1.47	0.687	49	Never	9	13	16	1.82	0.801	61	Never
8	I share means of transportation with colleagues.	11	20	7	2.11	0.689	70	Sometimes	19	14	5	2.37	0.714	79	Always
#	Practice towards climate change	Pre							Post
		Always	Sometimes	Never	Mean	SD	%	Agreement Level	Always	Sometimes	Never	Mean	SD	%	Agreement Level
9	I get my groceries from shops near my house.	26	12	0	2.68	0.471	89	Always	32	6	0	2.84	0.370	95	Always
10	I replace hard copies of documents with soft copies to save paper.	18	17	3	2.08	0.638	69	Sometimes	21	16	1	2.53	0.557	84	Always
11	I prefer distance learning to save the environment.	16	10	12	2.11	0.863	70	Sometimes	16	11	11	2.13	0.844	71	Sometimes
12	I sort my waste in the recycling bins.	8	26	7	2.03	0.636	68	Sometimes	19	14	5	2.42	0.642	81	Always
13	I do not encourage living by the sea because of the risks of sea-level rise due to climate change.	12	12	14	1.95	0.837	65	Sometimes	15	14	9	2.16	0.789	72	Sometimes
14	I participate in climate change awareness campaigns.	21	15	2	2.50	0.604	83	Always	26	12	0	2.68	0.471	89	Always
17	I am interested in reading more about climate change to raise awareness and educate myself.	30	7	1	2.24	0.490	75	Sometimes	27	10	1	2.68	0.525	89	Always
Overall mean					2.25	0.612		Sometimes				2.48	0.580		Always

Table 3.

Practice towards climate change in pre- and post-KAP questionnaire.

Most students (95%) agreed to adapt to the suggested Practices that support the environment in many ways. Therefore, the study sample had a Positive Attitude towards climate change, while 76% of them always apply environmental Practice in POST-KAP.

5. Conclusion

The enrichment unit and the climate champions’ activity effectively increased students’ knowledge of climate change, as evidenced by the increase in the percentage of students who scored more than 60% in the knowledge section of the KAP. The program also effectively changed students’ attitudes towards climate change, as evidenced by the increase in the percentage of students who said they would “always” practice climate-friendly behaviours. These findings suggest that climate change awareness programs can effectively increase students’ knowledge and change their attitudes and practices towards climate change.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the British Council and the University of Bahrain (UOB) for their guidance and support during this research project.

Recommendation

The authors of the current research recommend paying more attention to the level of knowledge, awareness and Attitude towards climate change of youngsters. Awareness sessions have a favourable implication on the level of knowledge, particularly. Activities and awareness sessions are also beneficial in Attitude and Practice. This is also found in other studies in several domains [14, 17, 18].

List of abbreviations

ESD	education for sustainable development
GHGs	green house gases
KAP	knowledge, attitude and practice
SDGs	sustainable development goal
NCR	national communication report
NDCs	nationally determined contributions