Abstract

Increases in emissions of greenhouse gases resulted in rising global average temperature in the past few decades. In Taiwan, annual emissions of CO₂ increased from 114.4 million tons in 1990 to 270.2 million tons in 2010, a staggering 136.2% increase in two decades. Strategic implementation of carbon reduction and environmentally sustainability becomes a top priority for government administration in public education in Taiwan. This study aims to examine information search behaviour and to reveal how carbon reduction behaviours differ from intentions. Carbon reduction intentions related to what respondents thought they should be doing for environmental sustainability. Behaviours referred to actions respondents had taken in particular ways to reduce carbon emissions. A survey was administered using personal interviews in March, 2010, in Taipei, Taiwan. A stratified sampling was utilised in this study following gender and age distributions of the population between the ages of 20 to 59. Findings in this study revealed that people search different types of carbon reduction information via various media channels. For those who prefer technology and policy related carbon reduction information, they would be more likely to take actions than those who prefer practical carbon reduction information. Technology/policy information seekers would have carbon reduction behaviour similar to their intentions, especially in energy usage and shopping activities. Practical information seekers seem to have higher level of behavioural discrepancies in carbon reduction. Strategic implications based on findings in this study are suggested.

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