Introduction/Objective: climate change represents one of the most pressing contemporary environmental challenges, particularly within educational settings where fostering sustainability-oriented behaviors has become a priority. The objective of this study was to examine the influence of climate change knowledge, climate change awareness, and climate risk perception on pro-environmental behaviors among Mexican university students using a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach.

Methodology: this study employed an explanatory, non-experimental research design. Data were collected at a single point in time from a sample of 356 Mexican university students. A structured questionnaire was administered to measure climate change knowledge, climate change awareness, climate risk perception, and pro-environmental behaviors. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM), including the assessment of both the measurement model and the structural model.

Results: the findings showed that climate change knowledge and climate change awareness had positive and statistically significant effects on pro-environmental behaviors, confirming their importance in explaining pro-environmental behavior among university students. In addition, climate change knowledge exerted a positive and statistically significant effect on climate risk perception. However, climate risk perception did not have a significant direct effect on pro-environmental behaviors, suggesting that its influence may depend on indirect mechanisms or other psychological and contextual factors.

Conclusions: the findings highlight the importance of strengthening both climate change knowledge and climate change awareness within sustainability-oriented higher education programs. The results support the value of integrative approaches for understanding pro-environmental behavior and provide evidence that can guide higher education institutions in designing strategies to promote and strengthen sustainable practices.

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Keywords:
Climate change,
climate change awareness,
climate risk perception,
pro-environmental behavior,
sustainability,
university students.

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