Women have a 26% lower carbon footprint than men when it comes to food and transport, a new France-based study by the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science and the Center for Research in Economics and Statistics (CREST) has found.
According to the study, food and transport account for half of the typical French person’s carbon footprint, however gender disparities are evident.
Higher emissions among men are due to increased red meat consumption and car usage, with transport emissions particularly high among men in households with children. At the same time, women in couples tend to have more carbon-intensive diets than single women, the study found.
The gender gap when it comes to food and transport emissions is comparable in scale to that between low- and high-income individuals, it noted.
Traditional gender norms
“Our results suggest that traditional gender norms, particularly those linking masculinity with red meat consumption and car use, play a significant role in shaping individual carbon footprints,” commented Ondine Berland, fellow in Environmental Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
“This points to the potential for information policies that challenge such norms, for example, by reframing plant-based alternatives as compatible with strength and performance.”
As the study suggests, shifting consumption patterns towards net zero may be more achievable for women given their lower emissions footprint.
Modes of transport
“Interestingly, we do not find a gender gap in carbon footprints for planes, a transport mode seen as more gender-neutral than car,” Marion Leroutier, assistant professor at CREST-ENSAE Paris, added. “This suggests that the gap is explained by gender differences in preferences pre-dating climate concerns.”
“More research is needed to understand whether these differences in carbon footprints are also partly due to women’s greater concern about climate change and their higher likelihood of adopting climate-friendly behaviours in daily life.” Read more here.
