|**Aspects of environmental**<br>**behavior**|**Nature of relationship with**<br>**educational factors**|**Studies included**|
|---|---|---|
|||Zepeda and Li 2007|
|Environmental awareness and<br>concern|Studies find a positive relationship<br>with total years of education as well<br>as level of education|De Silva and Pownall 2014<br>Klineberg et al. 1998<br>Smith 1995<br>Teisl et al. 2008<br>Torgler and García-Valiñas 2007<br>Xiao et al. 2013|

Hence, it remains inconclusive whether differences in climate literacy across education groups are <mark>the direct result of education affecting people’s attitudes towards climate change, or whether these differences are due to other factors that may or may not be directly observable such as differences in early life experiences, family background, political ideologies, and inborn predispositions (Powdthavee 2021). Therefore, while previous evidence suggests a positive correlation between education and environmental behavior, unobserved characteristics that might cause individuals to attain more education and cause individuals to be environmentally conscious make it difficult to infer causality from this evidence. It is thus essential to introduce mechanisms of exogenous variations in schooling such as compulsory schooling legislations to overcome the endogeneity issue and establish causality.</mark>

# **<mark>3.1. The Linkages between Education and Climate Change: Toward a Conceptual Framework</mark>**

<mark>Establishing the impact of schooling on climate also requires understanding the pathways that could lead from increased educational attainment to improved environmental outcomes. Authors have previously established the role that increased schooling can play in changing an individual’s cognitive skills (e.g., Pekkala Kerr 2013). Dahmann (2017) further suggests that cognitive skills, which includes innate abilities to reason and process information as well as learned knowledge or behavior, can improve through increased instructional time and a multiplier-effect on the skills gained during the early years. Other authors such as Mcguire (2015) and Powdthavee (2021) have suggested that improved cognitive skills, especially attitudes and behaviors gained through schooling can equip individuals to process information on climate change better and faster thus</mark> providing one pathway from schooling to pro-environmental behavior.

<mark>While improved cognitive skills provides one direct pathway, there are other indirect pathways that may be at play as well. Hwang et al. (2000) in their study based at the Kwang-Reung Arboretum in the Republic of Korea suggest that in addition to cognitive factors, there are affective and situational factors that play a role in ensuring responsible environmental behavior. Affective factors include feelings and emotions whereas situational factors include economic conditions and access to information or resources. The study finds that an individual’s belief in their ability to bring about change plays a critical role in determining their actions and hence education should focus on building critical thinking and action skills that can enable individuals to take their own decisions. Levy et al. (2016) in their study with approximately 3,000 adults in Israel further analyze</mark> <mark>7</mark>