China’s rural-urban climate education divide: addressing environmental justice in climate literacy

Background China’s rapid urbanization has created unprecedented disparities in climate education between rural and urban populations, posing a critical environmental justice challenge with global implications. Objective This study investigates rural–urban disparities in climate education across China, examining implications for environmental justice and national climate preparedness. Methods A convergent mixed-methods approach analyzed 2,847 participants (1,523 rural, 1,324 urban) across 12 provinces using standardized climate literacy assessments and 89 semi-structured interviews. Multilevel models employed restricted maximum likelihood estimation to account for the nested data structure. Results Substantial climate literacy disparities exist between rural (mean = 42.3/100, SD = 12.1) and urban populations (mean = 71.8/100, SD = 9.8, p < 0.001; Cohen’s d = 2.7). Rural areas have 73% lower digital access, 68% fewer qualified environmental educators, and 85% less curriculum integration (percentages relative to the urban baseline = 100%). Multilevel modeling revealed community-level factors (teacher qualifications, technology infrastructure, curriculum) explained substantial variance beyond rural–urban status (marginal R 2 = 0.52 to 0.64). Qualitative analysis identified interconnected violations of justice across the distribution, recognition, and participation dimensions. Conclusions China’s rural–urban climate education divide raises significant environmental justice concerns and presents barriers to national climate resilience. While a cross-sectional design limits causal inference, converging evidence indicates that systematic disparities warrant urgent policy intervention through phased reforms that address infrastructure, teacher capacity, and structural inequalities.