Association Analysis on Pro-Environmental Behaviors and Environmental Consciousness in Main Cities of East Asia

An association analysis of people’s environmental consciousness and their proenvironmental behaviors was performed using a statistical survey data set collected in Beijing, Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo, the four largest cities in East Asia, based on random sampling in 2005 and 2006. Although there were remarkable differences in people’s attitudes toward environmental issues under the different environmental qualities, economic situations and social institutions in each city, statistical analysis demonstrated that six pro-environmental actions, including “buying eco-good”, “recycling”, “water saving”, “energy saving”, “riding a public transportation” and “buying organic vegetable”, were closely related to people’s recognition of environmental changes, their intrinsic values and demographic attributes. The author also found that cultivation of environmental consciousness is an important factor in evoking people’s pro-environmental behaviors. Especially, it is necessary to construct an international framework of harmony with regard to environmental issues in which the diversity of environmental consciousness in different social backgrounds in East Asia is taken into account.