Climate Change Awareness Among Palestinians in the West Bank: A Cross-Sectional Study of Socioeconomic and Contextual Factors

Abstract

Climate change awareness is increasingly recognized as a multidimensional issue related to understanding climate risks, adoption, and climate-friendly behaviors. This paper aims to explore and assess the socioeconomic contextual factors of climate change awareness in the West Bank, Palestine. In order to achieve this, a cross-sectional online survey, conducted from September to November 2024 and including 1059 participants, was carried out to measure awareness based on the Climate Change Awareness Scale (CCAS) to investigate knowledge, attitudes, personal concern, multiplicative action, and climate-friendly behavior. Descriptive statistics have demonstrated a moderate overall awareness level (M = 3.97 and SD = 0.71) with comparatively high climate-friendly behavior (M = 4.43 and SD = 0.89). On the other hand, the lowest scores were reported for multiplicative action (M = 3.30 and SD = 0.97). Additionally, multiple linear regression with robust variance estimators showed that awareness is statistically correlated with age and some contextual factors related to place of residence. In other words, younger age groups have shown lower awareness than that of older adults. Moreover, individuals living in refugee camps have demonstrated lower awareness when compared to village residents. Similarly, people in contact areas with the occupation manifested higher awareness than that of those in non-contact areas. On the contrary, gender, education level, and monthly income did not show statistical significance. These results indicate that climate change awareness in the West Bank is formed via social and contextual differences. Furthermore, recognizing these differences requires taking into account the local context when designing climate awareness programs and urging collaborative efforts.