The environmental awareness of higher education students and the implications for the Paris Climate Agreement: empirical evidences from Ethiopia and USA

The study aims to complement the current debate on the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement by accounting for the youth's environmental awareness and commitment in developed and developing countries. A survey questionnaire, based on 200 higher education students in Ethiopia and the U.S.A., is used to assess the knowledge and awareness of current environmental conditions, the anticipated environmental problems, and the willingness to pay for environmental causes. Findings based on non-parametric Mann–Whitney tests show that respondents view climate change as real and in favor of global efforts, while their environmental awareness is suboptimal. Country wise, the US students marginally outperformed in environmental awareness and willingness to pay extra taxes to offset environmental damages. An important implication to be drawn from this empirical study is inspiring further studies in the prospects of international climate agreements, and the implementation thereof.