Łukasz Kurowski, Bożena Kicińska, Desalegn Yayeh Ayal, Ulisses M. Azeiteiro, Henri-Count Evans, Inga Grinfelde, José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Guerra, Jasenka Gajdoš Kljusurić, João Carlos Correia Leitão, Chunlan Li, Newton R. Matandirotya, Bethwel Mutai, Gustavo J. Nagy, Thierry Razanakoto, Jame Schaefer, Goran Trbic, Roberto Ariel Abeldaño Zuñiga, Sane Pashane Zuka, Charles Galdies, Adriana Consorte-McCrea, Francisco Platas, Mittul Vahanvati, Pedi Obani, Safwatun Nida, Lucas Gabriel Zanon, Mayara Régia Sousa de Melo, Renato da Costa dos Santos, Alison Glover, Roman Vakulchuk
Climate change and poorly designed urban development can lead to a number of negative externalities, particularly an increase in the intensity of urban heat islands (UHIs). When combined with an aging population, UHIs can lead to many health problems (mainly heat stress). Reducing these negative impacts of climate change depends not only on the actions of local authorities but also on the actions and attitudes of individuals. Local climate initiatives that improve local climate conditions include paying attention to energy efficiency or supporting initiatives to develop blue–green infrastructure. The aim of our study is to test and explain whether climate knowledge increases respondents’ awareness of their ability to influence local climate conditions. To achieve our goal, a CAWI survey was conducted in May 2024 with a representative sample of 1012 respondents living in different areas of Poland. This country is an inspiring research area due to the carbon-intensive characteristics of the Polish economy, where more than 60% of electricity is still generated from brown and hard coal. In the first part of the survey, respondents’ knowledge about climate change (asking three questions) was verified. Then, via logistic regression, it was tested whether this knowledge could influence respondents’ attitudes toward their ability to influence local climate conditions. According to the results, knowledge of climate change in Polish society is low—only 39% of respondents can correctly identify the cause of global warming. In turn, the results of logistic regression confirm that climate knowledge significantly increases respondents’ awareness of the possibility of shaping local climate conditions. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Eswatini, Manzini, Kwaluseni Campus, Matsapha, South Africa; Institute of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Engineering, Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Jelgava, Latvia; Center for Sustainable Development (Greens), Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina (Unisul), Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil; School of Urban and Regional Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Kgotso Development Trust, Beitbridge, Zimbabwe; Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Centre, Beitbridge, Zimbabwe; Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay; CERED, University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar; Marquette University, Milwaukee, United States; University of Sierra Sur, Oaxaca, Mexico; University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Land Economy, University of Malawi, The Polytechnic, Blantyre 3, Malawi; Institute of Earth Systems, University of Malta, Msida, Malta; Academy for Sustainable Futures, Canterbury Christ Church University, Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom; Casa de Cultura de la UAEMéx en Tlalpan, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico; School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; University of Bradford, Bradford, United Kingdom; Science Education Department of Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, Indonesia; University of São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil; State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil; Universidade do Contestado-UNC, Mafra, Brazil; The Open University, Cardiff, United Kingdom; Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Oslo, Norway; Collegium of Management and Finance, SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Warszawa, Poland; Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies, University of Warsaw, Warszawa, Poland; Center for Food Security Studies, College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa Univesity, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; The Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) and Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
