A recent study from Sweden confirms that men cause 16% more harm to the environment than women. Scientists say that goods bought by men cause more emissions of greenhouse gases than goods bought by women.
This claim is made by a research company, Ecoloop, who published a study in the Journal for Industrial Ecology this week, that explains how men influence climate heating more than women by their expenditure and consumption of food, household items, cars, and gasoline.
What was the Study?
The researchers in Sweden conducted a study on the basis of consumption data from 2012 (the most recent figures available). The study observed the spending of both men and women and came up with a result that though both have the same spending but still men contribute more towards carbon emission.
Women mostly spend their earnings on products with low-emission of harmful gases. The products that women purchase include healthcare, furnishing, and clothes. However, on the other side, their counterparts men spend 70 percent of their earnings on items producing extensive greenhouse gases, with fuel for cars being on the top.
Men produce exclusively more environmental pollution than women during transportation and vacations. It is due to the usage of vehicles, used by men whereas women travel by train, which is much more friendly.
“The high expenditure on fuels and cars and also the extraction of fossil fuels is frequent in comparison to women and is also associated with their masculinity.” Asmae Ourkiya, a doctoral researcher at the University of Limerick in Ireland told CNN.
Regulation policies need Alteration
The government needs to alter the environmental policies as soon as possible because the rules should be formed and implemented according to the gender difference as seen in the study.
The lead researcher of the study Annika Carlsson-Kanyama, told CNN, “men need to learn from women’s expenditure habits as they produce significantly low carbon emission despite the same spendings.” Therefore, she believes that the government should formulate new decisions considering the gender differences in shaping our nature.
For example, the new transportation system should discourage men from spending loads on fuel and initiate local transport. Government can influence and check at the same time the excess expenditure leading to excessive carbon footprints. Witnessing gender stereotypes in climate change is uncomfortable but is the reality.
Government efforts are needed as women produce a smaller carbon footprint than men but, they are also vulnerable to climate change, according to the United Nations. This variation among men and women is harmful and causes more than half of the carbon emissions.