Development and validation of the self-perceived climate action competence scale

Promoting climate change education in higher education requires a comprehensive understanding of students’ capacities to take meaningful climate action. Assessing such competencies is essential for designing effective learning interventions and aligning with institutional sustainability goals. This study integrates existing concepts of climate literacy and sustainability action competence to develop a climate action competence framework, addressing the lack of a clear structure in prior research and guiding the development of the Climate Action Competence Scale (CACS) for university students. Data were collected from a demographically and academically diverse student sample across regions. Item analysis and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were conducted to assess item quality, internal consistency, and to identify initial factor structures within each subscale: Knowledge System of Climate Action (KSCA, 9 items), Efficacy for Climate Action (ECA, 9 items), and Commitment to Climate Action (CCA, 6 items), each rated on a five-point Likert scale. A subsequent confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported a higher-order construct–Climate Action Competence–encompassing these three domains, with strong reliability and validity. The validated 24-item CACS offers a robust self-report tool for evaluating students’ self-perceived climate action competencies and guiding pedagogical design to empower meaningful climate action.