Mobile internet connectivity and climate change literacy in Africa

Addressing climate change requires individual behavioral shifts and a deep understanding of its impacts, yet the role of information and communication technologies (ICT), a powerful driver of social movements and cultural shifts, in shaping climate change literacy remains underexplored. This study addresses a critical gap by exploring how ICT, particularly mobile Internet connectivity, influences climate change literacy in Africa. I provide the first systematic evidence on the impact of mobile Internet connectivity on climate change literacy by exploiting variations in peer-based Internet connectivity in an instrumental variable strategy. Using newly georeferenced individual-level data on climate change literacy from over 42,000 respondents across 31 African countries, I show that mobile Internet connectivity has a modest yet robust effect on climate literacy, raising it by approximately 0.57 points for a typical adopter. Heterogeneity analysis shows that mobile Internet access primarily enhances the knowledge-based dimensions of climate literacy, particularly climate awareness and understanding, while also improving risk perceptions to a lesser extent. This suggests that mobile Internet contributes to climate literacy mainly by expanding access to factual information and knowledge about climate change. Suggestive evidence reveals that Internet connectivity can help close climate-related information gaps, among socio-economically disadvantaged groups, such as women, farmers, and those without formal education. Although Internet connectivity increases the frequency of using Internet and social media for news, there is no strong evidence that these platforms serve as channels linking Internet connectivity to climate literacy.