Latest news with #MarionLeroutier
Free Malaysia Today
27-05-2025
- Science
- Free Malaysia Today
Men's love for meat, cars makes them pollute more than women
Findings show that car use and consumption of red meat – often associated with male identity – account for most of the residual difference in carbon footprints. (Envato Elements pic) PARIS : A recent French study highlights the gender gap in carbon footprints, revealing that women emit 26% less carbon dioxide than men – mainly due to lower car use and lower consumption of red meat. This preliminary study was carried out by Ondine Berland at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Marion Leroutier at Crest-Ensae Paris, based on survey data on the mobility and eating habits of over 15,000 people. It reveals that men's annual carbon footprint for food and transportation is the equivalent of 5.3 tonnes of CO2, compared with 3.9 tonnes for women. The gap remains significant even when standard of living, distances travelled, and volume of food consumed are taken into account. 'The data show that red-meat consumption and car use – which are both high-emission goods often associated with male identity – account for most of the residual difference in carbon footprints once variations in food quantity, distances travelled, and employment status are considered,' explains an overview of this working paper. The survey also reveals that the gender gap in carbon footprints is as wide as that between low- and high-income individuals. This underlines the importance of cultural and social – and not just economic – factors in CO2 emissions. The researchers believe that these results highlight how men and women could be affected differently by the implementation of climate policies. It could be less challenging for women than men to adopt consumption patterns compatible with net-zero objectives, they noted. '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. '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,' Berland said. The researchers point out, however, that further studies are needed to shed more light on their findings and hypotheses. This is not the first time that the subject of gender differences in individual carbon footprints has been studied. A UK study published in the journal Plos One at the end of 2021 estimated that men pollute 41% more than their female counterparts, primarily due to their consumption of meat. Another study published the same year, this time in Sweden, showed that men produce around 16% more greenhouse-gas emissions than women – again, mainly due to their appetite for meat and greater consumption of fuel.
LeMonde
18-05-2025
- Science
- LeMonde
More red meat and large cars: Why French men emit more CO₂ than women
Men, who love barbecues and SUVs, pollute more than women. A stereotype? Not entirely, according to a French study published on Wednesday, May 14, by the London School of Economics (LSE), which quantifies the gender gap in greenhouse gas emissions. It reveals that men emit 26% more CO 2 than women in transport and food, two sectors which account for 50% of France's national household carbon footprint. Men account for an average of 5.3 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO 2 e) per year for those two sectors, compared to 3.9 tCO 2 e for women. "These differences are very significant, comparable to the carbon footprint disparity between the richest 50% of French and the poorest 50%," said Marion Leroutier, a co-author of the study and an environmental economics researcher at the Center for Research in Economics and Statistics (CREST). Part of the gender gap was explained by socio-economic factors: types of employment status (part-time or full-time, for example), place of residence and socio-professional categories. Men tend to travel longer distances, especially when commuting to work, and consume more calories – health authorities consider their nutritional needs to be 24% higher than women's. However, once these parameters are taken into account, a portion of the carbon footprint gap (38% in transport and 25% in food) remains unexplained.
Euronews
14-05-2025
- Science
- Euronews
Two key reasons French men have 26% higher carbon footprint than women
Men in France have a 26 per cent higher carbon footprint than women, according to new research exploring how gender impacts individual climate impact. Researchers say this is largely due to increased consumption of what the working paper calls 'gender stereotypical' goods: cars and red meat. Food and transport account for half of the average French person's carbon footprint. The study of 15,000 people in France also found that the gender gap in emissions may be as large as the gap between lower- and higher-income individuals. The research, which has not yet been peer reviewed, comes from the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics (LSE) and the Center for Research in Economics and Statistics (CREST). It found that household structure also plays a key role in shaping this carbon footprint gap. People in a couple tend to converge on food, meaning single women often have a less carbon-intensive diet. Gender differences in transport footprints were especially large when children were introduced into the mix. Researchers say this shows that who people live with - and how their roles are divided - can shape their climate impact. '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,' says Ondine Berland, fellow in environmental economics at LSE. '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.' At the same time, says Marion Leroutier, assistant professor at CREST-ENSAE Paris, cultural trends that promote raw meat or 'all meat' diets risk reinforcing these norms and increasing carbon-intensive behaviour. These trends are often accompanied by a negative rhetoric around plant-based diets. 'Interestingly, we do not find a gender gap in carbon footprints for plane, a transport mode seen as more gender-neutral than car,' she adds. 'This suggests that the gap is explained by gender differences in preferences pre-dating climate concerns.' Controlling factors which may have an influence on the results of studies into gender gaps can be hard. When this study was adjusted for socioeconomic factors like income and education, the gap between men's and women's carbon footprints in France dropped to 18 per cent. Men do need to eat more calories, but they consume disproportionately more food than women. They also, in general, have higher incomes, which previous research shows generally means higher emissions. One 2021 study from Sweden found that what men spend causes 16 per cent more emissions than what women spend, despite the sum of money being very similar. More research is also needed, the team explains, to understand whether these differences in carbon footprints may be down to greater concern from women about climate change and their higher likelihood of adopting climate-friendly behaviours in daily life.
Irish Examiner
14-05-2025
- Science
- Irish Examiner
Car use and meat consumption drive emissions gender gap, research suggests
Cars and meat are major factors driving a gender gap in greenhouse gas emissions, new research suggests. Men emit 26% more planet-heating pollution than women from transport and food, according to a preprint study of 15,000 people in France. The gap shrinks to 18% after controlling for socioeconomic factors such as income and education. Eating red meat and driving cars explain almost all of the 6.5-9.5% difference in pollution that remains after also accounting for men eating more calories and travelling longer distances, the researchers said. They found no gender gap from flying. '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,' said Ondine Berland, an economist at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a co-author of the study. Research into gender gaps is often plagued by difficult decisions about which factors to control for, with seemingly independent variables often confounded by gendered differences. Men need to eat more calories than women, for instance, but they also eat disproportionately more than women. They also have higher average incomes, which is itself correlated with higher emissions. Previous research from Sweden has found men's spending on goods causes 16% more climate-heating emissions than women's, despite the sums of money being very similar. Marion Leroutier, an environmental economist at Crest-Ensae Paris and a co-author of the study, said: 'I think it's quite striking that the difference in carbon footprint in food and transport use in France between men and women is around the same as the difference we estimate for high-income people compared to lower-income people.' Eating red meat and driving cars explain almost all of the 6.5-9.5% difference in pollution that remains after also accounting for men eating more calories and travelling longer distances The most powerful actions a person can take to cut their carbon pollution include getting rid of a petrol car, eating less meat and avoiding flights. But efforts to challenge car culture and promote plant-based diets have provoked furious backlashes from pundits, who perceive it as an attack on masculinity. The term 'soy boy' has been used by far-right figures including the US vice-president, JD Vance, and the self-described misogynist influencer Andrew Tate to present progressive men as weak. Soy is a common protein source in vegan cuisine, but three-quarters of the world's soya beans are fed to animals to produce meat and dairy. The French researchers suggested the gender differences in emissions could explain why women tend to be more concerned about the climate crisis, arguing the greater personal cost of reducing their emissions could cause men to avoid grappling with the reality of the climate emergency. But they added that greater climate concern could lead women to do more to cut their emissions. '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,' Leroutier said. - The Guardian Read More Regulator asks Tesla how driverless taxis will avoid causing accidents in Texas
France 24
14-05-2025
- Science
- France 24
'Red meat and cars': French men's carbon footprint 26% higher than women's, study finds
The average man in France has a 26% higher carbon footprint than the average woman largely due to increased car usage and red meat consumption, a study released on Wednesday by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics (LSE) and the Center for Research in Economics and Statistics (CREST) found. Researchers analysed French consumption data from more than 2,000 car models and food products matched with detailed environmental information to shed light on the 'underexplored factor' of how gender might impact carbon emissions. It found men in France had an annual average carbon footprint associated with food and transport of 5.3 tonnes, compared with 3.9 tonnes for women, largely due to differences in consumption of what the working paper describes as two 'gender stereotypical' goods: red meat and cars. 'Women have substantially lower carbon footprints than men in the food and transport sectors,' said one of the study authors, Ondine Berland, a fellow in environmental economics at LSE. 'We identify household structure, biological differences, higher red meat consumption and car usage among men as key factors driving this gap.' Red meat – namely beef and lamb – is the most carbon intensive of all foods and road travel accounts for three quarters of global transport emissions – more than any other form of transport. In France, the food and transport sectors account for 50% of household carbon footprints. Part of the reason people who identified as women had a smaller carbon footprint on average was due to wider lifestyle factors. The study found women in France were 'more likely to live in large cities and poorer households and are more often unemployed or outside the labour force – all characteristics associated with lower carbon footprints". Single men and women also had lower and more equal carbon footprints than those living in dual-adult households, for whom traditional household structures played a 'key role' in shaping carbon consumption. Women – especially women with children – were less likely to work and more likely to seek out work with shorter commutes, reducing their work-related carbon emissions. As a result, men's 'work-related trips – which include both commuting and other business-related trips – explain most of the gender gap in transport carbon footprints', the study found. 'We did not find a gender gap in carbon footprints for planes, a transport mode seen as more gender-neutral than car," said study author Marion Leroutier, assistant professor at CREST Paris. 'This suggests that the gap is explained by gender differences in preferences pre-dating climate concerns.' 'Traditional gender norms' The opposite was true when it came to food, with women in couples having more carbon-intensive diets than their single counterparts. This is likely because women are more likely to adapt their eating habits to match their male partners', including eating more red meat. 'Shared meals and joint decision-making may limit the expression of gendered dietary preferences,' the study said. The overall findings indicate that 'traditional gender norms, particularly those linking masculinity with red meat consumption and car use, play a significant role in shaping individual carbon footprints", Leroutier said. In other words, who people live with and how they divide household roles can significantly shape their climate impact. For climate activists and politicians, the findings may shed light on how climate policies impact men and women differently, contributing to their success or failure. For example, there could be an opportunity to counter carbon-intensive 'cultural trends that promote raw meat or 'all-meat' diets – often accompanied by rhetoric dismissive of plant-based options' by 'reframing plant-based alternatives as compatible with strength and performance', Leroutier says. Such techniques may mitigate some emissions – but not all. A male appetite for red meat and likelihood of travelling more for work does not completely explain France's climate gender gap. Even after accounting for socioeconomic, calorific and travel differences, 25% of the foot footprint gap and 38% of the transport footprint gap remain unexplained, the study said. '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,' Leroutier added.
