The Effect of Fear of COVID-19 on Green Purchase Behavior in Pakistan: A Multi-Group Analysis Between Infected and Non-infected

Exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on energy literacy and conservation behavior in academic buildings of Kuwait

This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on energy literacy and conservation behavior among occupant groups in academic buildings in Kuwait. It explores influential factors, focusing on the pandemic's effect on attitudes, intentions, and behaviors related to energy conservation. The research adopts a mixed-methods approach, incorporating quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. Participants, including students, faculty, and staff, completed surveys, participated in questionnaires, focus groups, and took part in interviews. Statistical tests are used to validate the survey data, while thematic analysis is applied to the qualitative data. The findings of the research showed that COVID-19 had a significant impact on participants' attitudes, intentions, and behavior regarding energy literacy and conservation. Specifically, the student group experienced a significant increase in the relationship between their intentions and behavior, while the faculty group exhibited a strong correlation between intention and behavior. The study also found that education, awareness, personal motivation, values, religiosity, and culture were all crucial factors in promoting energy literacy and conservation behavior. The study recommends specific educational interventions, fostering a culture of conservation, providing access to information and resources, promoting community engagement, incorporating religiosity, and improving policies and infrastructure to enhance energy literacy in academic buildings. Additionally, the study highlights the importance of tailored educational interventions that consider the specific needs and challenges of different occupant groups and suggests incorporating religious perspectives to align with the cultural and religious context of the Kuwaiti population. The study's findings offer comprehensive insights into the impact of unforeseen events, such as pandemics, on energy literacy and conservation behavior. These insights have practical implications for policymaking and implementation. Future research could explore the effectiveness of various educational interventions and examine the role of social and cultural factors in shaping energy literacy and behavior.

The Covid-19 pandemic in context of climate change perception and resource-saving behavior in the European Union countries

The resource-saving behavior in the recent period is escalating particularly due to the energy and prices crises in all of the European Union (EU). The COVID-19 pandemic not only caused changes in health concerns but also in environmental awareness and behavior. Thus, this paper aims to reveal whether the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the resource-saving behavior, and how this pandemic changed the climate change perception and personal responsibility in the EU countries. Referring to two surveys conducted in all EU countries in 2019 and 2021, the results revealed that the level of climate change perception during this period significantly decreased in all EU. Meanwhile, the level of responsibility placed on the government to solve the climate change problem increased the most. A level of the personal responsibility increased negligibly. Considering resource-saving behaviors, only the lesser usage of disposable items from 2019 to 2021 increased statistically significantly. The results of an analysis of the main determinants of resource-saving behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic period revealed that personal responsibility and the climate change solution's benefit for health positively and significantly determined all the analyzed actions. The climate change perception and climate change solution's benefit for the economy statistically significantly influenced waste reduction, the purchase of efficient appliances, and the usage of pro-environmental transportation mode instead of personal cars. Health benefits instead of the economic benefits statistically significantly contributed to the resource-saving behaviors, except for actions that require more monetary investments. The satisfaction with the COVID-19 pandemic management had an insignificant negative impact on all resource-saving actions. Thus, the tools assigned to manage this pandemic did not motivate people to save natural resources.