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An Empirical Study on Carbon Literacy Among Graduate Students in Energy Sector Universities

Guide to Education Innovation / 2025,5(4): 165-174 / 2025-12-15 29 13

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• Authors: Minchang Jing Hongjie Bu* Yun Xu Xiaona Wang
• Information:

  China University of Petroleum, Library, Beijing

• Keywords:
  Carbon literacy; Graduate education; “Dual Carbon” goals; Energy sector universities; Attitudebehavior gap
• Abstract: Against the backdrop of global climate change and the deepening implementation of China’s “Dual Carbon” goals, enhancing the carbon literacy of high-level talents has become crucial for driving the green transition. This study takes China University of Petroleum (Beijing) as a case and, through a questionnaire survey of 415 graduate students, employs a combination of descriptive statistics, cross-analysis, the LDA topic model, and an entropy weight-based TOPSIS evaluation model to deeply investigate the status, influencing factors, and group differences in carbon literacy among graduate students in energy sector universities. The findings indicate: (1) the overall carbon literacy of graduate students is at a medium to upper-medium level, but a significant attitude-behavior gap is evident; (2) Carbon literacy levels show a distinct disciplinary divide. Students from majors directly related to energy and chemical engineering (e.g., College of Petroleum Engineering, College of Carbon-Neutral Future Technology) performed significantly better than those from humanities and social sciences majors, indicating that professional education and academic environment are core factors shaping carbon literacy; (3) Regarding knowledge acquisition, online platforms, university campaigns, and formal coursework constitute the three main channels. Based on these conclusions, this study proposes implementing targeted education strategies, promoting university-wide curriculum coverage, and constructing an integrated cognition-practice-innovation cultivation cycle to provide a pathway for deepening the cultivation of green talents.
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.35534/gei.0504018 (registering DOI)
• Cite: Jing, M. C., Bu, H. J., Xu, Y., & Wang, X. N. (2025). An Empirical Study on Carbon Literacy Among Graduate Students in Energy Sector Universities. Guide to Education Innovation, 5(4), 165-174.