July 22, 2021 - 7:00am
It’s not called man-made climate change for nothing. According to new research from Sweden — covered in yesterday’s Guardian — single men are responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than single women.
Despite spending similar amounts of money, the male carbon footprint was 16% bigger than that left behind by the average female.
The bulk of the difference was travel related. For both everyday transport and holidays, men literally went further in their consumption of fossil fuels.
There are those who’d love to fuse wokery with greenery. Take a look, for instance, at a new report from the European Environment Bureau and the WECF (with financial support from the EU). This too, sticks it to the men:
“…environmental impacts are gendered. For example, men cause on average 8 to 40% more emissions than women, mainly due to their mobility and dietary behaviour.”
As it happens, the Swedish research, published in the Journal for Industrial Ecology, looked at carbon emissions caused by food choices and found no significant difference between men and women. But there’s a wider problem with using environmental metrics to pursue progressive social agendas. In fact, it’s a deeply dangerous thread to be pulling on.
For instance, while one can make a comparison between single men and women one can also compare singletons with couples. As noted in the Swedish study, “expenditure for housing and transport is shared in households with several members” thus reducing the carbon emissions per head. In other words, traditional families are more eco-friendly than the living arrangements that define contemporary individualism. So if we’re going to eco-shame men for their choices, are we also going to do the same to singletons of both sexes for how they choose to live?
Or what about immigration? The flow of migrant labour across borders might meet with liberal approbation, but it creates a structural need for long-haul aviation. Or is the new progressive message to be: “welcome to our country — you’ll never see your family again”?
And speaking of global travel, when can we expect the first big campaign against the student gap year? Don’t hold your breath, because while eco-shaming men is cool, eco-shaming the young isn’t.
The environmental movement needs to think twice before motoring down the road of identity politics. By all means, divide the technologies we use into clean and dirty categories — but don’t do the same to human beings.
Peter Franklin is Associate Editor of UnHerd. He was previously a policy advisor and speechwriter on environmental and social issues.
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SubscribeWhy stop at gender when making such comparisons? We could also compare the carbon footprint religions (jetting 3 million souls to the Hajj each year). Also, further to Peter Franklin’s comments about immigration, nearly all immigrants move from a low per capita carbon emissions country to a high per capita carbon emissions country. Wokists exploiting eco-concerns are sure to turn a blind eye to such considerations, the better to concentrate their fire on their bête noire.
Strong men who know and trust in themselves are the nemesis of would-be despots. It has been forever thus.
But is climate change man made?
It is (Michael) Mann made.
By the study above, 54% man, 46% female, so there is that.
I have been buying some commodity stocks lately, expecting the global collapse of Fiat Money, so wanting ‘Real’ assets – and see coal investments have been doing quite well, like oil has. Most likely it is men digging and drilling it all up. The ending of Orwell’s song, ‘Poor Unfortunate Bella’ is the wonderful line (sung by the Women):
‘It’s all the Men, the Dirty, Rotten, Bast*rds’.
Which best states the condition of mankind and all the issues..
I suppose dormitories for all single people might be recommended. Common wall communal housing for most couples along with a shared courtyard for kiddies would do the trick. Perhaps a mega-mall set vertically with lower floor outdoor stalls for food purchases built near every communal cluster. It will be lovely, just image how efficient the new towns will be for we humans who will all wear the proper uniform according to social rank. Orwell would adore our new world.
Obviously it isn’t MENS fault, just ask Adam, then again, Eve might think differently (As she loads, yet another, shopping bag, full of shoes and clothes, into the boot/trunk of her car).
Responsibility for quantities of gas comprising 0.04% of our atmosphere now apportioned by gender may have uncorked the genie bottle. It will be exciting to follow where this leads. Too many overweight men wobbling the earth on its axis perhaps?
Clearly unbalanced by the fact that most emergency vehicles are staffed by men.
Let us strike a blow against fossil fuels and refuse to be rescued or assisted by any vehicle, any ambulance, fire engine, rescue helicopter or lifeboat powered by fossil fuels.
That’ll show them!
I hate these “woke” smears based on statistical cohorts. It’s just so dumb. Like when people blamed white women for Trump’s election and for the second Trump election race being so close. Everyone is responsible for protecting the environment whether you live in a yurt and bicycle everywhere or a mansion with a fleet of cars.