UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA UNDERGRADUATES’ KNOWLEDGE OF AND ATTITUDE TO CLIMATE CHANGE

Abstract

The purpose  of this study  was  to  find  out the University  of  Nigeria  undergraduates’  level  of knowledge of and attitude to climate change. Thirteen specific objectives with their corresponding research questions and three null hypotheses guided the study.  Cross-sectional  survey research design  was  employed  for the study.  The population  for the  study  consisted  of 21907  regular undergraduates  during  the  2010/2011  academic  session.  Multi-stage  sampling  procedure  was used  to  draw  a  sample  of  960  undergraduates   (582   males  and  378  females).  A  21-item questionnaire (UKAC) designed by the researcher was the instrument used for data collection. The research questions were answered using percentages and mean.  The null hypotheses were tested using ANOVA and t-test statistics. The major findings were: the undergraduates had high level of knowledge  of meaning  (64.55%);  causes  (63.46%)  and prevention  (62.43%)  of climate change. They had moderate level of knowledge of the effects of climate change (57.50%). Gender did not influence the  undergraduates’  level of knowledge  of climate change as both male and female undergraduates have high level of knowledge of climate change. Year of study influenced the level of knowledge of climate change. The knowledge increased as the undergraduates progressed from first year to final year. The knowledge of climate change among the undergraduates varied from department to department with the departments under faculties of Agriculture and Engineering rating  the  highest.  The  undergraduates  showed  positive  attitude  to  the  causes,  effects,  and prevention of climate change (    > 2.5) irrespective of their gender, year of study and course of study. There was statistically  significant difference in the level of knowledge of climate change based   on   year   of   study.  The  hypothesis   of  no  statistically   significant   difference   in   the undergraduates’   attitude  to  climate  change  based  on  gender  was  accepted.  There  was  a significant difference in the level of knowledge of climate change among the undergraduates  in relation to their course of study. From the findings, it was concluded that the undergraduates had high level of knowledge of climate change and it was recommended  that the university  should intensify efforts in making climate change a cross-disciplinary programme..

CHAPTER ONE Introduction

Background to the Study

Climate change is the most pervasive environmental issue which has become a global scourge owing to its far-reaching deleterious effects on environment, biodiversity as well as on health of animal and human species (The Inter-governmental  Panel on Climate  Change,  IPCC,  1996) including  the undergraduates  of  University  of  Nigeria,  Nsukka.  According  to  Custom  Writings  (2008),  climate change threatens the health of the earth’s inhabitants and the world’s economies every day and this is why D’Silva (2011) noted that there has been a hue and cry about climate change ever since the idea was first put forward.

IPCC (1996) warned that the impacts of climate change on environmental stability and life on earth are better imagined than experienced. They include changes in the global climate and the consequent disruption in the temporal and spatial distribution of temperature,  precipitation,  evapo-transpiration, clouds and air currents as well as the consequent shift in the vegetational belts; melting of the polar ice- caps; rise in sea level which  could  adversely  affect low-lying  areas  and  the synergy among these discrete effects. Each of the above has implications for fresh  water resources,  agriculture  and food supply, natural ecosystems, biodiversity as well as human and animal health (IPCC, 1996).

Climate change is accompanied with longer and more intense heat waves, storms and more pests which in turn can carry devastating diseases (Gille, 2002). Climate Change Science Programme, CCSP (2008) noted that changing climate has led to more widespread of diseases and deaths due to malaria. According Stanford Solar Center, SSC (2008), climate change will result in the spreading of certain diseases such as malaria, the flooding of major cities, a greater risk of heat stroke for individuals and poor air quality. CCSP (2008) observed that the increase in the number and intensity of hurricanes and typhoons in America and Japan, the rapid melting of polar ice, floods in the south of Asia, twenty years of drought in Somalia, the unexpected damage caused by forest fires in Australia among others have led to thousands of casualties as well as loss of billions of dollars in financial value.

At its core, Health Education functions to bring the message of this debacle to bear in  the

minds  of the  general public.  Promoting  public  health through  Health  Education  means  seeking  to

advance good health outcomes and usually more pressingly, to avoid bad health outcomes such as those which come with the climate changes (Beauchamp & Steinbock, 1999). As Africa is one of the most vulnerable  continents  to  climate  change  with  the  least  intellectual,  institutional  and  technological capability to address it (Ozor, 2010), health educators express worry if the  wealthier countries will accept to take up more responsibilities  of addressing  the scourge  of  climate  change  than the less fortunate others as enshrined in the Kyoto Protocol (Beauchamp & Steinbock, 1999). This is especially when the industrialized countries are the major contributors of climate change (Ozor, 2010). However, the issue of climate change, as noted before, is a global scourge and to prevent it, there is need for all people including the university undergraduates to understand the meaning and consequences of climate change.

Climate  Change,  according  to  Encarta  (2009)  is  a  long-term  alteration  in  global  weather patterns, especially increases in temperature and storm activity, regarded as a potential consequence of the green house effect. CCSP (2008) stated that climate change refers to the  earth’s air and ocean gradually  heating  up  to  a point  that  disrupts  balance  in  human  and  natural resources.  The  above definitions show that the earth’s temperature is rising leading to disruption of the earth’s ecosystem. A global coverage of satellite-derived atmospheric temperatures is now available for 22 years, revealing that the earth is warming (Foster, 2000).  This accounts for why most studies on the subject refer to climate  change  as global  warming.  In this  study,  Climate  Change  and  global  warming  was  used interchangeably  to  mean  the  increase  above  the  normal  temperature  of  the  earth  (as  a  result  of accumulation of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere) leading to disaster like hurricanes, more thunder-related  deaths and destructions,  droughts,  flood, diseases and other inconveniences  to  man (including the undergraduates of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka).

Green  House  Gases  (GHGs)  have  been  shown  as  the  culprit  of climate  change  although, D’Silva (2011) remarked that climatic conditions may also vary due to natural circumstances such as volcanic eruptions and solar activities (solar variation and orbital forcing). Timeforchange (2011) noted that almost 100 per cent of the observed temperature increase over the last 50 years has been due to the increase of greenhouse  gas concentrations  in the atmosphere  and  the largest contributing  source is anthropogenic activities. Anthropogenic activities in this study are the sum total of human activities such as burning of fossil fuel, deforestation,  oil  flaring, application of agro-chemicals,  over-grazing

among  others  which  affect  climate  by  unleashing  volumes  of  greenhouse  gases  into  the  earth’s atmosphere.

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are gaseous components in the atmosphere that contribute to the heating of the earth by means of a similar effect produced by the glass panes of a  greenhouse (D’Silva,  2011).  They  are  any  of  the  atmospheric  gases  according  to  Mifflin  (2009),  which contribute to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation produced by solar warming of the earth’s surface. The term greenhouse gases (GHGs) according to Buzzle (2011) is used to refer to the gases present in the atmosphere which absorb the radiation and emit them within the thermal infrared range. This process is termed greenhouse effect. It increases the global temperature leading to a phenomenon called global warming (Wallace,  2008 and Wikipaedia,  2010). The GHGs are water  vapour,  carbon dioxide  (CO2),  methane,  ground  level ozone,  chlorofluorocarbons  nitrous

oxide,  aerosols  among  others  (United  Nations  Conference  on  Environment  and  Development,

UNCED, 1992; IPCC, 2007; Wallace, 2008; Microsoft Encarta, 2009; Lindinger &  Kunzemann,

2010; Buzzle, 2011). Because these greenhouse gases are good absorbers of heat radiation coming from the Earth’s surface, they act like a blanket over the Earth’s surface, keeping it warmer than it otherwise  would  have  been.  Their  accumulation  would  accelerate  the  warming  effect  beyond acceptable levels. If current trends in anthropogenic  GHG emissions continue through 2030, the earth will experience an average rise in temperature ranging from 34.7 to 40.1o F (1.5 to 4.5o  C) (Porter & Brown, 1991). The operational definition of GHG  in this study was the one given by Encarta  (2009)  thus: greenhouse  gases are gases that  contribute  to the warming  of the  earth’s atmosphere by reflecting radiation from the earth’s surface.

IPCC (1996) and United States Environmental Protection Authority (USEPA, 2011) noted that there  have been series of international  conventions  (Vienna  Convention  in 1985,  Montreal Protocol in 1987, Rio Declaration in 1992, Kyoto Protocol in 1997, Buenos Aires Climate Summit in 1998, Marrakesh Agreement in 2001, Bali Climate Change Conference in 2007, Ponzan Climate Conference in 2008, Weather Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2009 among others) which have been working to reduce emissions. Regrettably, lack of a strong collaboration among nations results to  ever  increasing  emission  of  these  gases.  For  instance,  Ikeme  (2001)  noted  that  Nigeria government  finds it difficult  to embrace  global  policy to mitigate  global warming  because  her economy remains dependent on fossil fuels. This is particularly worrisome because fossil fuels are the chief culprit  implicated  in the  environmental  issue of climate  change  phenomenon.  Cullis-

Suzuki (1992) expressed fears that most of the anthropogenic activities embarked upon by man are pivotal for man’s wellbeing and economic growth that man finds it difficult to embrace mitigation action. Also, the fight against climate change requires a collective effort. Individuals do not see it as personal responsibility, so, they would rather not compromise their pleasures. Health Education has a great job of letting these individuals  including the university undergraduates  to appreciate the need for all hands to be on deck in fighting the debacle.

The fight against the climate change is hindered by so many factors and in as much as the solution  of  environmental  problems  such  as  climate  change  relies  on  political,  economic  and technological remedies, Ikeme (2001) suggested that it also requires more educated individuals who know about environmental problems and the measures needed to rectify them. As the future of the earth is in the hands of today’s youths (the university undergraduates), it becomes imperative that climate change awareness be implanted in the university undergraduates through Health Education to equip them for prevention of climate change and its consequences.

An undergraduate is a university or college student who is studying for their first degree (Hornby, 2005). Ugwu (2001) defined an undergraduate as a person working towards obtaining first degree  in a tertiary institution.  Ugwu  (2001)’s definition  of undergraduate  was adopted  in this study. The undergraduates,  university undergraduates  and students were  used interchangeably as one and the same concept in this study.

What climate  change  holds for the near future generation  is grossly devastating.  Health Education, if properly planned and delivered to cover all areas of knowledge, skills and attitudes that will enable man to live harmoniously with his environment will no doubt go a long way in forestalling  most  of  the  consequences  of  climate  change  experienced   today.  Mitigating  the challenges of climate change starts by the knowledge it. Thus, there was need to ascertain the level of knowledge possessed by the undergraduate who are the future leaders and the potential fighters of climate change and its scourge. Knowledge concerning climate change is necessary for all and sundry  including  the  undergraduates  of  University  of  Nigeria  where  the  present  study  was conducted.  This  is because  World  Health  Organisation,  WHO  (1990)  noted  that  knowledge  is prerequisite to practice.

Bedworth  and  Bedworth  (1978)  remarked  that  knowledge  implies  an understanding  of specific  facts,  terminologies,  convention,  ways  and  means  of  dealing  with  specific   trends, sequences, classifications,  categories, methodology,  criteria, universal and abstract  principles and generalizations  and finally theories and structures.  Two important  clauses are  subsumed  in this

definition: “an understanding  of specific facts” and “means of dealing with specific trends”  The undergraduates’ understanding of climate change consequences (specific facts) would mould their attitudes positively towards mitigating climate effects (means of dealing with  them). Omoregbe (1998) sees knowledge as facts of understanding events, issues or objects that are acquired either through learning or experiences.  The undergraduates  may or may not  have been exposed to the learning experiences related to climate change and its consequences. However, knowledge in this study was  defined  as undergraduates’  level  understanding  of the  meaning,  causes,  effects  and prevention of climate change.

One  of the  interests  of the present  study was  to  establish  the undergraduates’  level  of knowledge of the subject matter. Such knowledge was suspected to have positive correlation with the  attitude  towards  it.  Blurtit  (2011)  defined  attitudes  as  evaluative  statements  favorable  or unfavorable related to person, object or event which reflects how  one feels about something or somebody. Generally, attitudes are positive or negative views of a person, place, thing, or event. People can also be conflicted or ambivalent toward an object, meaning that they simultaneously possess both positive and negative attitudes toward the item in question (Wikipaedia, 2011). In the present work, attitude referred to the evaluative  statements which reflect how the undergraduates feel about climate change in relation to its causes, effects and prevention.

There are certain variables which can influence the climate change knowledge and attitude of the undergraduates. One of such variables is gender. Raudsepp (2001) found that women were significantly more likely than men to be concerned  with environmental problems. Females have been consistently shown to have higher environmentally conscious attitude than men. They are also more knowledgeable of environmental issues than their counterparts. The common reason advanced for gender differences regarding environmental consciousness is the pattern of assignment of social responsibilities between boys and girls (Raudsepp, 2001). The girls are assigned all the sweeping and cleaning activities  and they  gradually and unconsciously  get so used to the welfare of the environment unlike their male counterparts. This means that females show more positive attitudes to the environment than males. Specifically, in the area of climate change, Agwu and Okhimamhe

(2009) submitted that women were found to be more knowledgeable than their male counterparts of

the same age brackets. Okhimamhe noted that women care about the environment more than do men. In the present study, the level of knowledge of and attitude to climate change based on gender were determined.

Course of study is another variable that can influence knowledge of and attitude  towards climate change. People in the Sciences are constantly been exposed to learning experiences in the area of climate change than those in arts (Ingwe, Ikeji, Mboto & Ojong, 2010; Ozor, 2010). Sharp and Høj (2011) found that most of the studies reporting climate  change come from the Physical Sciences,  rather than Social Sciences.  Ingwe,  Ikeji, Mboto  and Ojong (2010) observed  that the universities  that  organize  climate  change  programme  only  do  that  in  Geology,  Geography, Climatology and in few other Physical Science courses. This is an indication that those in Physical Sciences  may  be  more  knowledgeable  of  climate  change  than  those  in  Biological  or  Social Sciences. Aladag and Ugurlu (2011) in  their study, Global climate change education in Turkey, found  that  misconceptions  and  misunderstandings  about  many  environmental  issues,  climate change included, are not only held by pupils but by teachers as well. These misconceptions  and misunderstandings are probably due to, among other things, the complexity of the science involved, the uncertainties and the controversies surrounding them. He concluded that those offering science courses are in better position to possess more climate change knowledge and show more positive attitude  to environment  than the non-science  students. The present work found out the level of knowledge of and attitude to climate change based on course of study.

Studies  report  that  among  the undergraduates,  year  of study can influence  the  level  of knowledge of and attitude to climate change. Oruonye (2011) conducted a study to assess the level of awareness  of the effects of climate  change  among students of tertiary  institutions  in Jalingo Metropolis,  Taraba  State  Nigeria.  The  findings  of the  study reveal  that  the  students’  level  of knowledge of climate change increases as the students progress from first to final year. This shows that while  those in final  year possess  more  knowledge  of  climate  change  than the rest of the students, those in their first year have the least knowledge than their senior counterparts. Studies also report that year of study can influence the level of knowledge of and attitude to health issues

generally. Illiterates are more vulnerable to this climate change misconception than the literate ones.

Uneducated  Augie  women  of  Niger  State  believed  that  the  effects  of  climate  change  were calamities inflicted by God (Agwu & Okhimamhe, 2009). In this study, the level of knowledge of and attitude to climate change based on year of study were investigated.

This study was anchored on three theories which were the Affective-Cognitive Consistency Theory (ACCT), Epistemology theory and the Functional theory in explaining the knowledge and attitude  of  the  University  of  Nigeria  undergraduates  concerning  climate  change.  The  ACCT examined  the  interaction  between  knowledge  and  attitude  and  how  they influence  each other. Attitude is changed because there is new knowledge (Rosenberg, 1956). This theory was used in the present work to show that when the undergraduates acquire new knowledge on climate change in relation to its causes, effects and prevention, they tend to change their attitudes positively towards climate change mitigation.

The standpoint  of Epistemology theory according to Conner  and Norman (1996) is  that people know about things and events around them through their senses. This theory implied in this work that individuals (the undergraduates under study) can come to know a thing (causes, effects and  prevention  of climate  change),  and  they can recognize  and  identify  what they have  seen, touched or felt (sheer effects of climate change) through their senses. Further, this theory implies that  individuals  (the undergraduates)  can  have  enough  experiences  on climate  change  through training (lectures, seminars, symposia, workshops and the media). Experiences here implied having knowledge of climate change in its entirety.

The central theme of Functional theory is that changing an attitude requires understanding its  motivational  basis  or  its  function  for  the  individual.  In  other  words,  Functional  theory  is interested  in the  roles  that  attitude  plays  (Katz,  1960).    There  are  four  identified  personality functions of attitude in this theory but the present  study dwelt  on one of them which was the utilitarian  function  of  attitude.  The  utilitarian  function  acknowledges  the  behaviorist  principle which states that people are motivated to change their attitude in order to gain rewards and avoid punishments from their environment.  The horror associated with climate change may motivate the undergraduates to change their attitude positively in mitigation of climate change.

Statement of the Problem

Climate change poses a clear danger to the entire life and man’s continued existence  on earth. The undergraduates are the future policy makers and administrators. As a result, they are the potential fighters of climate change and need to possess a level of knowledge on climate change which will not only positively influence their attitude to climate change, but also will make them take a better stance in mitigating the debacle.

Unfortunately,  the biggest obstacle to climate change mitigation is lack of its  knowledge especially in developing countries including Nigeria (Agwu & Okhimamhe, 2009; Ozor, 2010). It is painful that Africa is one of the most vulnerable continents to climate change (based on literature evidence), yet, most studies conducted in Africa and specifically in various Nigerian universities show  that  there  was  either  little  or  complete  lack  of  climate  change  knowledge  among  the undergraduates of the studied universities due to insufficient or lack of climate change programmes in these universities. This also influences the undergraduates’ attitude towards climate change.

The present researcher was worried about the level of knowledge of and attitude to climate change of the undergraduates of the studied Nigerian universities who are the future leaders and potential fighters of climate change which has heavy load of disasters to earth’s inhabitants if not prevented. The researcher was worried if this level of knowledge of and attitude to climate change among the studied undergraduates would be the same among the undergraduates of the University of Nigeria as no study has been conducted in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka to establish the undergraduates’ level of knowledge of and attitude to climate change.

Purpose of the Study

The  purpose  of  this  study was  to  determine  the  University  of Nigeria  undergraduates’ knowledge  of and  attitude  to  climate  change.  Specifically,  the  study  intended  to  find  out  the undergraduates’:

1. level of knowledge of meaning of climate change;

2. level of knowledge of causes of climate change

3. level of knowledge of effects of climate change;

4. level of knowledge of prevention of climate change;

5. attitude to causes of climate change;

6. attitude to effects of climate change;

7. attitude to prevention of climate change;

8. level of knowledge of climate change based on gender;

9. level of knowledge of climate change based on year of study;

10. level of knowledge of climate change based on course of study;

11. attitude to climate change based on gender;

12. attitude to climate change based on year of study; and

13. attitude to climate change based on course of study.

Research Questions

The following research questions were posed to guide the present study:

1.   What is the undergraduates’ level of level of knowledge of meaning of climate change?

2.   What is the undergraduates’ level of knowledge of causes of climate change

3.   What is the undergraduates’ level of knowledge of effects of climate change?

4.   What is the undergraduates’ level of knowledge of prevention of climate change?

5.   What is the undergraduates’ attitude to causes of climate change?

6.   What is the undergraduates’ attitude to effects of climate change?

7.   What is the undergraduates’ attitude to prevention of climate change?

8.   What is the undergraduates’ level of knowledge of climate change based on gender

9.   What is the undergraduates’ level of knowledge of climate change based on year of study?

10.   What is the undergraduates’ level of knowledge of climate change based on course of study?

11.   What is the undergraduates’ attitude to climate change based on gender?

12.   What is the undergraduates’ attitude to climate change based on year of study?

13.   What is the undergraduates’ attitude to climate change based on course of study?

Hypotheses

The following three hypotheses were postulated for verification at 0.05 level of significance:

1.   There is no significant difference in the level of knowledge of climate change among the undergraduates in relation to their year of study.

2.   There  is  no  significant   difference   in  the  attitude   to  climate   change   among   the undergraduates based on gender.

3.   There is no significant difference in the level of knowledge of climate change among the undergraduates in relation to their course of study.

Significance of the Study

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have always pitied Africa because she is in the tropics where temperature is already hot. Further increase in temperature as a result of global warming will turn Africa into hell. On this premise, UNFCCC and USAID concluded that Africa is one of the most vulnerable continents in the presence of global warming. Data generated from the undergraduates’ level of knowledge of meaning of climate change may help to give the UNFCCC and  USAID  clue  of  the  level  of  knowledge  of  meaning  of  climate  change  possessed  by undergraduates of the exemplary African nation and the continental giant, Nigeria. UNFCCC and USAID may be able to extrapolate  what  the  situation will be with the other African countries undergraduates.  This  will  guide  UNFCCC  and  USAID  in  giving  educational  and  technical assistance in this area to the countries within the continent.

Data  generated  to  determine  the undergraduates’  level  of knowledge  of causes  climate change  may  be  of  immense  benefit  to  the  National  Orientation  Agency  (NOA)  and  Federal Emergency Management  Authority (FEMA).  If the undergraduates  do not  know  the causes of climate change, it will attract the attention of the NOA and FEMA who will now direct the bulk of their  job  towards  letting  the  undergraduates  know  about  causes  climate  change  through  their campaigns. This is because the undergraduates  are the future  leaders. It will be a wasted energy asking them to prevent climate change if they do not know the causes.

Data generated  to determine  the undergraduates’  level of knowledge  of effects  climate change  may be a stimulant  to the curriculum  planners  at all levels of education  to  design the curriculum in such a way that learners will appreciate the effects of the debacle. The undergraduates of other universities  may be challenged  noting  that  the level of knowledge  of climate  change possessed by their counterparts surpasses theirs.

Data  generated  to  determine  the  undergraduates’  level  of  knowledge  of  prevention  of climate change may help the UNN administration  to know how successful or  unsuccessful  the climate change programmes which it says exist in UNN is. Through this, they may find a way of

strengthening or adapting the programmes to achieve its set goals. This data will also be useful to

researchers who want to find out whether or how the knowledge of the effects of climate change among the undergraduates influences their attitude towards it.

Data generated to determine the undergraduates’ attitude to causes of climate change may help  in  providing  information  to  the  National  Orientation  Agency  (NOA)  and  the  National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on the need to prevent the menace of climate change by advancing the campaign of climate change mitigation to the universities.

Data generated to determine the undergraduates’ attitude to effects of climate change will benefit the government and her policy makers. If the government has the interests of  the  future generations at heart, they will (through the data gotten from this segment) see the need to add more impetus in training the undergraduates who will become the tomorrow’s leaders in such a way that the effects  of climate  change  will not be seen as just a tale but  be appreciated  as impending calamity. This is within the ambit of the Ministries of Education and their curriculum planners.

The fight against climate change requires collaboration of all hands with the  international communities.  It requires that individuals  should compromise  their personal  pleasures  and gains such  as  reducing  the  use  of  refrigerators,  air  conditioners,  fertilizer  and  deforestation  among numerous others. Data generated to determine the undergraduates’ attitude to prevention of climate change will portray, among other things, the level of the undergraduates’ willingness to forfeit their gains, pleasures and conveniences in a bid to fight against this debacle. The data in this segment may be a stimulus to groups, NGOs or bodies who are championing the fight against the impending scourge like the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), United Nations Conference on Climate Change (UNCCC), and World Bank among others who are interested in encouraging the developing  countries  through  grants,  scholarship  and other forms of financial  assistance  to enable them appreciate the reality of the contextual scourge and embrace the step taken to fight it.

Data generated  to determine  the undergraduates’  level of knowledge  of climate  change based on gender in this study may be of immense  value to the Federal and State  Ministries of Education  and  Health,  and  curriculum  planners.  Specifically,  the  State  Post  Primary  School Management Board (SPPSMB) that oversees secondary schools’ organization within the state will

take cue from the result of the study to know where more emphasis will be placed. For instance, if

the result of the study shows that the girls’ level of knowledge  of climate change is low  when compared  to their boys’ counterparts,  the curriculum for the girls’ schools may be  reviewed  to stress  on  the  subject  matter.  If  the  result  shows  that  both  boys  and  girls  have  low  level  of knowledge of the subject matter, the curriculum will be adjusted to have a harder grip on climate change even at university level.

Data generated from determining the undergraduates’ level of knowledge of climate change based on year of study may be of great help to the university administrators (particularly University of Nigeria). It will give the beneficiaries added impetus to adapt the curricular in such a way that the undergraduates  (irrespective of their year of study) will have holistic  knowledge of climate change before/on graduation.

The result of the undergraduates’ level of knowledge of climate change based on course of study may be used as a spring board for environmental related curriculum planning and studies for the universities. The Academic Planning Unit of these universities may find this result veritable in planning the academics to be able to answer the question “who needs what?” More so, given the exclusive reliance on fossil fuels for foreign exchange by the Nigerian government, the impact of the global shift away from fossil fuels is bound to  cripple the Nigerian economy. The data may draw the attention of the Nigerian government and her policy makers to find ways of adapting the curricular to prepare the undergraduates who are the future leaders and economic planners to be able to meet these impending challenges.

Data generated from the undergraduates’  attitude to climate change based on gender  may trigger  the NOA  and NEMA  among others, who work to address the challenges  of  the  global climate change. The NOA and NEMA in the course of their youths’ orientation may need to put more efforts in encouraging the youths on the right types of attitude that are environmental friendly and discourage them on the unwholesome ones. Also, it may help the classroom teachers to know the areas that they will lay emphasis on while planning the learning experience of the students so as to inculcate environmental friendly attitude in both male and female undergraduates.

Data generated from the undergraduates’ attitude to climate change based on year of study

will benefit not only the curriculum planners but also the Nigerian government, her ministries and

agencies. There is not supposed to be disparity in the level of knowledge of climate change due to differences  in the  level of education.  The fresh  students  as well  as the old  ones  should  have abundance of knowledge of climate change because both the fresh and the old students contribute to climate change. So, they need to fight it jointly. The curriculum planners may adjust the curriculum to provide scientific information on the debacle to all the students following the data generated in this segment.

Data generated from the undergraduates’ attitude to climate change based on course of study may be of immense benefit to United Nations (UN), United Kingdom Department for International Development (DfID) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) who may want to grant scholarship to the students of under-developed  and developing countries especially noting that Africa and other developing world are more vulnerable to the scourge of climate change. If particular set of courses of study have been shown to promote knowledge of, better attitude to and mitigation of climate change, the UN, the DfID and the USAID may be interested in granting scholarships in those courses to attract more people there in the fight against climate change.

Scope of the Study

The study covered  the undergraduates  students of 15 faculties  of University of  Nigeria. these faculties are distributed among 4 campuses which were Nsukka, Enugu, Ituku-Ozalla and Aba campuses.

The  study  also  covered  the  knowledge  and  attitude  of  University  of  Nigeria  regular undergraduates concerning the meaning, causes, effects and prevention of climate change. Also of concern are variables such as gender, year of study and course of study as they associated with the undergraduates’ level of knowledge of and attitude to climate change.

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