The COVID-19 pandemic and climate change issues present evident interdependencies which justify the spread of connected beliefs We examine possible changes in individuals&rsquo;pro-environmental behavior in light of this pandemic, using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework A questionnaire survey was submitted to the same sample of individuals, before and during the pandemic Our evidence, based on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has not led to a weakening in TPB construct relationships, or in related Pro-Environmental Behavior (PEB) Conversely, through our Partial Least Squares-Multi-Group Analysis (PLS-MGA), we show that individuals with greater awareness of interdependencies between the COVID-19 and climate change exhibit both higher Intention and reinforced Pro-Environmental Behaviors This finding reveals interesting policy implications in terms of innovative behavioral drivers that should be employed to steer public support towards climate-oriented initiatives
Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior to Examine Pro-Environmental Behavior: The Moderating Effect of COVID-19 Beliefs