Increasing the Climate Change Awareness on SDGs among Higher Education Students: Age and Environmental-Related Education as Dual Moderators

The various repercussions of climate change are perhaps the greatest threat to sustainability, while awareness is crucial for reaching sustainable development goals (SDGs). The study specifically investigated the moderate influence of age and environmental-related education (E-Re) on climate change awareness and SDGs.First, the scales were applied to 1067 participants. Second, %31.4 (n = 335) of higher education students who volunteered took E-Re courses through online portals. The impact of climate change on SDGs and the moderators and variables that define the interaction effects were examined, and hypotheses were tested. The most critical finding of the research shows that even if there is increased awareness of climate change among young students who have not received E-Re, the SDGs do not change. This indicates that the SDG practices of the younger generations without E-Re could be disregarded. This study focuses on how environmental-related education can be viable in the curriculums of different education levels. E-Re needs to be revised in SDG practices according to climate change awareness and socio-demographic characteristics such as age, education level, long-term settlements, etc.