Exploring University Students’ Environmental Literacy, Attitudes, and Behaviors: Evidence from Six Countries.

Environmental Literacy (EL) is a multidimensional concept that includes knowledge, values, and behavior related to environmental sustainability. Past research has highlighted that EL could play a crucial role in shaping individuals’ appraisals with environmental issues, such engagement in pro-environmental behaviors and activism. This research explored the connection between core EL components and other psychological dimensions such as environmental identification, self-efficacy, attitudes, and behaviors among 792 university students across six countries: Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and the United States. Findings indicate that while EL components are interconnected, knowledge has the weakest links to attitudes and behaviors. While biospheric values and past environmental behavior are stronger predictors of environmental engagement, reinforcing the idea that moral commitment and experience drive action more than knowledge alone. EL was also correlated with normative and non-extreme forms of activism, while extreme activism was not correlated to any of the EL dimensions. Country-level differences revealed that Poland and Portugal had the highest environmental literacy and activism levels, while Italy and Spain had the lowest engagement levels. These results highlight the importance of integrating environmental literacy into educational programs as a tool that could foster long-term climate engagement.