[Gcap-mujeres] Pollution Is a Masculine Noun In Europe

[Marcela Ballara]

*CLIMATE CHANGE

In Europe, Pollution Is a Masculine Noun **/

/**Julio Godoy* - Tierramérica*

*PARIS, Feb 17 (IPS) - Many aspects of gender inequality are well known
and well documented. But there seems to be little awareness that male
behaviour leads to greater emissions of climate-changing gases.*

That is the conclusion of two independent studies by separate teams of
European scientists, both based on statistical data on consumption and
daily activities of men and women in industrialised countries.

Frédéric Chomé, a French consultant on environmental and sustainable
development issues, stated that a typical French woman causes emissions
of 32.3 kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2) per day, on average, while a
man causes 39.3 kg of CO2 emissions.

"The estimates are based on a study of human activities separated by
gender, conducted by France's National Institute of Statistics and
Economics (INSEE)," Chomé told Tierramérica.

"Although our calculation method is very approximate, I believe the
results are a good indicator of the differences in environmental
contamination resulting from the different behaviours of men and women,"
added the author of the study titled "24 Hours Exactly: Your Personal
Carbon Account."

Similar conclusions resulted from a study by Annika Carlsson-Kanyama, of
Sweden, and Riita Räty, of Finland, about the behaviours of men and
women in 10 daily activities in Germany, Greece, Norway and Sweden.

According to their study, "Comparing Energy Use by Gender, Age and
Income in Some European Countries," men consume more meat and processed
beverages than women do, use automobiles more frequently and driving
longer distances, resulting in greater CO2 emissions.

Commenting on the two studies, Corinna Altenburg and Fritz Reusswig, of
Germany's Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, noted that some
of the more polluting habits attributed to the male population are the
result of the social roles they usually play in society.

In transportation, for example, men make more trips in airplane and
automobile, raising considerably their ecological footprint, according
to the two experts.

That difference could be balanced out in the future, "to the extent that
equal opportunity allows women to climb the labour ladder, while men
take on more household duties."

Meanwhile, eating habits follow the gender line: men tend to eat more
meat, and women eat more fruits and vegetables -- habits that are
difficult to change, according to Altenburg and Reusswig.

They suggest that a policy aimed at reducing the male portion of CO2
emissions should focus as much on environmental objectives as issues of
urban development, traditionally male jobs, and deeply rooted social
customs.

"The goal in eating should be to trade quantity for quality. Reducing
the consumption of meat reduces mass production of meat, and that helps
fight CO2 emissions from livestock, for example," said the experts.

Chomé found that in France, in eating habits alone, one man is
responsible for 7.98 kg of CO2 emissions per day, while one woman is
responsible for 6.79 kg per day. The scientists found similar gender
differences in nearly all 11 activities analysed.

The only case in which women cause greater greenhouse gas emissions is
in carrying out household tasks like cooking and cleaning and washing
clothes, according to the study released Nov. 24.

Carlsson-Kanyama, meanwhile, explained to Tierramérica that their
research found that, apart from the substantial gender differences in
transportation and eating habits, it is the consumption of alcohol and
tobacco products that drive up the portion of emissions for which men
are responsible.

"For the study, we looked at the total use of energy per household in
the four countries, and then we divided the individual consumption of
men and women by activity," she said.

But the activity with greatest environmental consequences is
transportation, stressed Carlsson-Kanyama. "In that rubric alone, men
consume between 70 and 80 percent more energy than women in Germany and
Norway, 100 percent more in Sweden, and up to 350 percent more in Greece."

This is explained by men's more intensive individual car use, which
leads to greater consumption of fuel, car parts and repairs.

"These differences are not specific to the four countries studied, but
are generalised across the European Union and have little to do with the
different professional activities of men and women," said Carlsson-Kanyama.

Women in the EU tend to make short trips by car, utilise public
transportation more often, and plan their trips according to the
transportation needs of others.

In general, the study that Carlsson-Kanyama and Räty published in August
2009 demonstrates that men consume more energy than women do. The
differences range from six percent in Norway and eight percent in
Germany to 22 percent in Sweden and as high as 39 percent in Greece.

As in previous studies, the researchers also conclude that energy
consumption increases as household income rises, and with it, increased
individual contribution to climate change.

According to Carlsson-Kanyama, the findings of the two studies suggest
that the European governments should focus their emissions-reduction
efforts on convincing the male population to modify their transportation
and eating habits to increase energy efficiency in related activities.

*This story was originally published by Latin American newspapers that
are part of the Tierramérica network. Tierramérica is a specialised news
service produced by IPS with the backing of the United Nations
Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme and the
World Bank. (END/2011)

--

Tony Tweedale, M.S.
*R.I.S.K. (Rebutting Industry Science with Knowledge) Consultancy*
PB 617
1000-Bruxelles 1
Belgique_
tel: +32-(0)2-611-1325
mobile(GSM): +32(0)487-438-888

t
-- 
Marcela Ballara
(562)7695168


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