Perception of Climate Change Among Egyptians Living in Egypt and Canada

This thesis explores the risk perception of climate change among Egyptians who reside in Canada and Egyptians who reside in Egypt. It applies a quantitative comparative analysis of these two populations to assess differences in risk perception of climate change and the influence of world views. Data for Egyptian residents was taken from a World Bank study about global perspectives on climate change; data for Canadian residents was taken from two Egyptian associations in Alberta. To explore factors associated with risk perception of climate change (and to explore the Canadian social context of risk perception in more detail) variables were added to the Canadian dataset such as access to information about climate change, socio-economic conditions and belief in self-responsibility. Results show that the Egyptian population has a significantly higher risk perception of climate change than the Egyptian Canadian population. Also there are significant differences in the way world views are associated with risk perception of climate change. Access to general knowledge about climate change and belief in self-responsibility about climate change was significantly associated with risk perception of climate change in the Egyptian Canadian sample. This research outcome raises questions about sources and content of this knowledge of climate change, and implications for public risk perception and policy development options for climate change mitigation and adaptation.