Research Proposal Presentation Title

An investigation of Chinese teenagers’ attitude and behavior towards global climate change issue.

Student researchers

Xinyuan He

Yanjin Zhu

Xingxing Deng

I-Ting Hsieh

What is your research question?

What kinds of factors influence Chinese teenagers’ attitudes and behavior towards climate change?

Research proposal keywords or concepts

Climate change, Chinese teenager, Environmental sustainability

How would you summarize your proposed research idea?

The climate change issues have been widely researched and discussed by the scientists and experts. According to our literature review, China had raise the temperature greater than the global world. Thus, in this presentation, our group aim to investigate how teenagers' attitudes and behavior change towards climate change issues by analysis the data that collected through quantitative method.

Where is the literature gap and how does your proposed research attempt to fill that gap?

There are plenty peer-reviewed articles we found had highlighted the climate change impacts and related solutions. Previously published studies are limited to Chinese teenagers’ attitudes and behavior. To fill out the literature gap, we will analyze the data collected through quantitative methods to see teenagers' attitudes change and what they actually have done for the environment.

Why is this gap worthy of research?

The finding of the proposed study will give the government and citizens a new aspect to rethink the climate change issue. It’s a good idea to increase the education and advocacy of climate change issue for teenagers in order to raise their awareness and promote them to take actions.

What future change could this research possibly contribute to, related to sustainability?

Our research is related to environmental sustainability. A better understanding of teenager’s ideas about climate change can lead to more targeted education on environmental protection and sustainability. Sustainable development can better be achieved in the future by cultivating teenagers’ awareness and enabling them to contribute to it.

What made your group interested in and/or what excites you about your proposed topic?

Climate change has always been a popular topic because of its environmental impact on people and the earth. We became interested in the topic of climate change after the simple investigation on rising temperatures cause glaciers to melt, which indirectly reduces the number of animals living on the ice. At the same time, high temperatures will also make it difficult for some crops to survive, indirectly affecting human life and the economy. Adolescents’ attitudes and behavior towards climate change are crucial, as a new generation of key influencers on environmental sustainability.

References

Ding et al. (2007). Detection, causes and projection of climate change over china： an overview of recent progress. Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, 24(6), 954- 971. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-007-0954-4
Qiao, G., & Gao, J. (2017). Chinese tourists’ perceptions of climate change and mitigation behavior: An application of norm activation theory. Sustainability, 9(8), 1322. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su9081322
Wang, B., & Zhou, Q. (2020). Climate change in the Chinese mind: An overview of public perceptions at macro and micro levels. WIREs Climate Change, 11(3). https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.639