Fourteenth International Conference on Climate Change: Impacts & Responses

Abstract

Climate change is a global problem requiring a global response. Yet while all countries are affected by climate change, developing countries are more exposed, having climates closer to dangerous physical thresholds. Egypt, for instance, which registers the third lowest GDP per capita in the Middle East, relies heavily on outdoor work and natural capital and has limited financial means to adapt rapidly. One example of how developing countries could be more exposed to climate risks is the risk connected with the impact of increased heat and humidity on workability. When it comes to the workability indicator (the percentage of effective annual outdoor working hours lost due to extreme heat and humidity), the top quintile of countries (based on GDP per capita) faces an average risk increase of 1 to 3 percentage points by 2050, whereas the bottom quintile faces an average risk increase of 5 to 10 percentage points. While developing countries are the most impacted by climate change and the least able to afford its consequences, capacity building, and public awareness undermine communities and governments’ adaptive solutionary capacities to deal with the effects of climate change. This paper examines the extent of awareness and public perception about climate change challenges and identifies barriers to climate-conscious behavior among university students in Egypt. Through surveys and a series of focus groups conducted with students and faculty, the study investigates an integrated strategic educational framework to enhance climate change knowledge and awareness among university students in Egypt.