Larmet: Män bryr sig mindre om klimatet – är klimatförnekare

Males impact the climate more than females and have less environmental engagement than females. This is one of the conclusions of a new study from the University of Gothenburg, which also identifies older men as ‘climate deniers’.

According to the study, men’s higher climate impact is due to more men than women driving cars, using public transportation less, and consuming more meat. At the same time, it is pointed out that women’s shopping also contributes to emissions.

For individuals, the best thing they can do for the climate is to start eating more greens and traveling more ‘sustainably’ in their everyday lives, according to the study’s authors.

Unmanly

State television has spoken with 27-year-old Felipe Klang, who speculates that the reason may be that it is considered feminine to engage in climate issues.

– I think that many guys don’t think it’s very manly to eat more vegetarian or, for example, shop with cloth bags. It’s stereotypes that persist, he says.

Gender Perspective

The study Sustainability, Lifestyle, and Consumption with a Gender Perspective is part of the Nordic Council of Ministers’ program for sustainable lifestyles. It aims to make visible and challenge gender stereotypes in relation to consumption and lifestyle and contribute to a better understanding of how differences arise, are reinforced, and reproduced.

It has been developed in collaboration between the University of Gothenburg and the collaborative organization Nordic Information on Gender, NIKK, at the National Secretariat for Gender Research.

Feminine is Better

Another of the study’s conclusions is that ‘norms regarding femininity and masculinity in the global North seem to affect individuals’ attitudes toward climate change, as well as the extent to which they engage in different behaviors that have either positive or negative consequences for the climate’.

The material in this report shows that the more individuals, regardless of gender, display feminine tendencies, the more they are oriented toward sustainability. Interest in sustainability issues seems to be associated with feminine ideals of care, and responsibility for care seems to promote ecological awareness, purchasing decisions, and management of possessions in both women and men.

Furthermore, older men are identified as ‘climate deniers’:

Particularly, young people feel concern about climate change, especially girls and young women, and many participate in climate activism, while so-called climate deniers disproportionately consist of older men, often employed in, or with a background in, traditionally male-dominated industries.