The Socioeconomic/Demographic Determinants of Public Perception about Climate Change in Ekiti State of Nigeria

Abstract

Perception influences the manner people address the risks and opportunities associated with climate change and this in turn influences the manner people respond to the impact(s). Based on questionnaire data collected from 197 respondents, this paper examined public perception about climate change and the socioeconomic/demographic factors influencing their perception in Moba Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Nigeria. To establish these factors, socioeconomic/ demographic variables (sex, age, marital status, educational level and occupation) were regressed on the climate change perception of the people using a binary logistic regression approach. Education level (P = 0.000) and occupation (p = 0.079) significantly influenced peoples’ perception about climate change in the study area. The result indicates that there is higher likelihood to understand and improve perception about climate change as educational level increases. Also, as one gets involved in climate sensitive occupation, there is higher likelihood to understand and improve perception about climate change. This study suggests expanding access to climate change education can enhance peoples’ understanding about climate change and their ability to relate to consequences of climate change impacts which may influence the willingness and capacity to adopt and implement adaptive measures to climate change. Further, continuous public sensitization about climate change will ensure the knowledge about climate change is not limited to only those who are impacted directly.