Navigating climate change: Climate change awareness and strategies in micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in a developing economy

PLOS One | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0327165 July 2, 2025 10 / 26 also align with recent empirical research in developing regions [57,58], which has pointed to low levels of climate change awareness among ventures—limiting the successful implementation of strategies to address its effects. Moreover, the results underscore the need for tailored learning initiatives to raise awareness of environmental challenges, fostering engagement with sustainability practices. Table 2. Awareness and Perceived Knowledge. Panel A. All sample Concept 1 2 3 4 5 Total Mean N 1 6.68 6.26 23.74 27.60 35.72 100.00 3.79 1,453 2 6.54 6.19 22.57 28.63 36.06 100.00 3.81 1,453 3 25.46 15.69 24.91 19.13 14.80 100.00 2.82 1,453 4 12.11 12.04 29.18 25.60 21.06 100.00 3.31 1,453 5 28.49 16.79 24.98 16.17 13.56 100.00 2.70 1,453 6 38.47 18.72 22.85 10.81 9.15 100.00 2.33 1,453 7 33.10 16.66 22.71 15.07 12.46 100.00 2.57 1,453 Panel B. MSMEs Concept 1 2 3 4 5 Total Mean N 1 4.90 3.81 21.05 30.13 40.11 100.00 3.97 551 2 5.44 4.54 17.79 31.58 40.65 100.00 3.97 551 3 20.15 12.16 25.05 23.77 18.87 100.00 3.09 551 4 9.98 10.53 24.32 31.58 23.59 100.00 3.48 551 5 22.50 15.79 22.69 21.78 17.24 100.00 2.95 551 6 32.67 16.88 23.96 13.79 12.70 100.00 2.57 551 7 28.86 15.61 21.05 17.60 16.88 100.00 2.78 551 Panel C. SBO Concept 1 2 3 4 5 Total Mean N 1 6.33 8.49 26.23 26.85 32.10 100.00 3.70 648 2 6.48 6.94 25.46 27.62 33.49 100.00 3.75 648

3 27.62 18.98 25.31 17.13 10.96 100.00 2.65 648 4 12.35 12.50 33.33 22.38 19.44 100.00 3.24 648 5 31.79 17.59 27.01 13.58 10.03 100.00 2.52 648 6 40.74 20.37 23.15 9.26 6.48 100.00 2.20 648 7 35.03 17.44 23.46 14.97 9.10 100.00 2.46 648 Panel D. SE Concept 1 2 3 4 5 Total Mean N 1 11.42 5.91 23.23 24.02 35.43 100.00 3.66 254 2 9.06 7.87 25.59 24.80 32.68 100.00 3.64 254 3 31.50 14.96 23.62 14.17 15.75 100.00 2.68 254 4 16.14 14.17 29.13 20.87 19.69 100.00 3.14 254 5 33.07 16.93 24.80 10.63 14.57 100.00 2.57 254 6 45.28 18.50 19.69 8.27 8.27 100.00 2.16 254 7 37.40 16.93 24.41 9.84 11.42 100.00 2.41 254 Note. Values in percentage. Concepts denote (1) Global warming; (2) Climate change; (3) Greenhouse gas mitigation; (4) Adaptation to climate change impacts; (5) Offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions; (6) Carbon neutrality (zero balance between emissions and offsets); (7) Decarbonization (hav- ing a low-emission production process). N = Sample Size. 5-point Likert scale where 1 indicates “Low Knowledge” and 5 indicates “High Knowledge”. SBO = Small Business Owners; SE = Self-Employed; MSMEs = Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0327165.t002