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The notion of Environmental Citizenship embodies behaviour – an actively involved citizen who exercises his/her environmental rights and obligations in the private and public spheres. Education for Environmental Citizenship implies behavioural change; its goal is to facilitate an individual’s intellectual growth (cognitive domain) and emotional capacity (affective domain) that may lead to a critical and actively engaged individual. Human behaviour is overwhelmingly sophisticated, and what shapes pro-environmental behaviour is complex and context specific. Furthermore, empirical research indicates a discrepancy between possessing environmental knowledge and environmentally supportive attitudes and behaving pro-environmentally. The point of departure of this chapter is that the social and psychological study of behaviour has much to inform the study of environmental behaviour and, deriving from this, to inform regarding the type of education towards behaviour/action in the goal of sustainable socioecological transformation. The chapter focuses on internal (psychosocial) factors. It presents selected models regarding factors influencing behavioural decisions that are acknowledged as influential theoretical frameworks for investigating pro-environmental behaviour, as well as various theories that inform these models. These are categorised into knowledge-based models; attitude-, value- and norm-oriented models; skills, self-efficacy and situational factors; and new approaches to environmental behaviour models. The chapter concludes with suggestions for Education for Environmental Citizenship deriving from the various models.

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This study aims to provide an empirically verified exploration of factors influencing environmental activist behaviour. The authors focus on the determinants of personal environmental activist behaviour as a characteristic of the culturally specific group of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. A two-stage model of the biographical availability thesis is explored. Results reveal evident regional differences in patterns of public-sphere environmental behaviours across Europe. CEE countries exhibit lower levels of engagement in environmental activist behaviours than Western and Nordic European countries. The two-stage model of the biographical availability thesis is only partially confirmed. Age and employment status have a significant influence on behaviour: specifically, being 17-24 years old and in education increases availability for environmental activist behaviour. Gender has an additional influence upon participation in demonstrations and protests, with men being more participative. A low-commitment partnership status has additional influence on behavioural intentions. The results imply the need for further research into the context and cognitive determinants of environmental activist behaviour in CEE countries.

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Tackling climate change requires collective, cross-borders actions and local solutions for mitigation measures. Variety of actors are involved in climate change adaptation and mitigation, ranging from local communities to the global supranational institutions. People tend to perceive individual action as failing to cope with climate change (e.g. outlined in Lorenzoni and Pidgeon, 2006) and therefore ascribe high responsibility to the institutional level. This article will analyze how the public in Baltic -Nordic countries perceive the institutional responsibilities in climate change adaptation and mitigation. This article is based on data of Special Eurobarometer (459), conducted in 2017 and the questions analyzed in this article are related to concerns about climate change and the perception of institutional responsibilities in tackling climate change (institutions: national governments, European Union, business and industry, regional and local authorities; and environmental groups). The local, national and global institutions are perceived as having different responsibilities and impacts in tackling climate change. Also, the perceptions of institutional and individual responsibility varies across the countries. Results indicate that climate change is perceived as one of the top three most serious global issues in Baltic -Nordic countries as well as the concern about climate change in those countries is increasing. Regarding public perceptions of institutional responsibility related to climate change risks, most people in EU member states indicate national governments as having highest responsibility. However, there are significant differences comparing the perception of public in Nordic and Baltic States.

Klimato kaita: socialinio rizikos suvokimo ir žiniasklaidos diskurso Lietuvoje konfigūracijos 1 Santrauka. Straipsnyje siekiama atskleisti klimato kaitos -kaip nūdienio aktualaus globalaus socialinio ir politinio klausimo -suvokimą Lietuvos visuomenėje pastaraisiais metais. Tyrimu siekiama atsakyti į klausimus: kokios Lietuvos gyventojų nuostatos, požiūriai į klimato kaitą, jos priežastis bei sprendimo galimybes; koks diskursas artikuliuojamas Lietuvos žiniasklaidoje klimato kaitos tematika; kaip žiniasklaidos diskursas siejasi su Lietuvos gyventojų viešąja nuomone. Sociologinė pastarųjų klausimų analizė nagrinėjama rizikos ir aplinkosaugos sociologijos teorijų kontekste, interpretacijas pagrindžiant visuomenės nuomonės apklausos, atliktos VMSF remiamo projekto RINOVA 2008 m. duomenimis ir analogiško laikotarpio žiniasklaidos turinio monitoringo tyrimų rezultatais. Straipsnio išvadose konstatuojama, kad nors pasauliniame kontekste klimato kaitos klausimai yra socialinio ir politinio diskurso centre, Lietuvoje globalias rizikas užgožia vietos problemos, o klimato kaitos klausimai, ypač žiniasklaidoje, neretai paliekami paraštėse. Pagrindiniai žodžiai: klimato kaita, socialinis rizikos suvokimas, žiniasklaidos diskursas.

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