Women’s food and transport carbon footprint 26% lower than men’s in France, study finds

New research conducted by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science and the Center for Research in Economics and Statistics (CREST) has found that women in France emit 26% less carbon with their diet and transport usage. Together, food and transport account for half of the average French person’s carbon footprint. The researchers also found that the gender gap in carbon footprints is as large as the gap between lower- and higher-income individuals.

Mitigating climate change requires significant changes in consumption patterns, particularly in high-emission sectors such as food and transportation. This study is among the first to investigate how gender influences individual contributions to climate change.

Using representative survey data on food consumption and transport patterns, the authors were able to conclude that red meat and cars — high-emission goods often associated with male identity — account for most of the difference in carbon footprints, once variations in food quantity, distances travelled, and employment status are taken into account, revealing the role of gender differences in preferences in creating disparities in carbon footprints.

They also found that household structure plays a key role in shaping the carbon footprint gap. People in a couple seem to converge on food, with women having more carbon-intensive diets than their single counterparts. On the other hand, gender differences in transport footprint are especially large for couples with children. Who people live with — and how roles are divided — can significantly shape their climate impact. 

The study’s results have major implications for politicians and decision-makers as they shed light on how men and women could be differently impacted by climate policy. Adopting consumption patterns compatible with net zero objectives may be less difficult for women than for men, given their significantly lower emissions in food and transport. This lower difficulty may explain why women show higher levels of concern about climate change in high-income countries.

Ondine Berland, Fellow in Environmental Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said:

“This study shows that women have substantially lower carbon footprints than men in the food and transport sectors. We identify household structure, biological differences, and higher red meat consumption and car usage among men as key factors driving this gap.”

“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.”

Marion Leroutier, Assistant Professor at CREST-ENSAE Paris, said:  

“At the same time, emerging cultural trends that promote raw meat or ‘all-meat’ diets — often accompanied by rhetoric dismissive of plant-based options — risk reinforcing these norms and increasing carbon-intensive behaviours.”  

“Interestingly, we do not find a gender gap in carbon footprints for plane, a transport mode seen as more gender-neutral than car. 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.”

ENDS