Previous studies have demonstrated a ‘gap’ between overall environmental knowledge and general pro-environmental behaviour. Here, we explore the relationships between school students’ intention to take specific pro-environmental actions (their Degree of Willingness to Act) and their belief in the usefulness of those particular actions in combating global warming (their Believed Usefulness of Action). For each action there is a Natural Willingness to Act—an intention to undertake the action even if it is not believed to be particularly effective—and a Natural Reluctance to Act—a disinclination to undertake that action even if it is believed to be highly effective. For those actions with a low Natural Willingness to Act combined with a low Natural Reluctance to Act, there is a strong relationship between belief in the usefulness of the action and an intention to act. Here, environmental education is likely to be effective in terms of modifying behaviour.
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