Gender emissions gap: Rich white men’s jobs, diets and hobbies found to be ‘bad for the planet’
Men were also found to have “less concern with climate change” and be “less ambitious and less active in environmental politics”.
As humanity edges closer to irreversible climate damage, masculine behaviours have been called out for being “bad for the planet”.
A new paper by more than 20 scientists from 13 different countries has analysed existing research on climate change, global warming, and environmental collapse – and how they connect with what men do.
Published in Norma: International Journal for Masculinity Studies, the paper, titled ‘Men, masculinities and the planet at the end of (M)Anthropocene’, covers questions as diverse as climate denial in Canadian pipeline politics, environmental impacts of Chinese policies in the Pacific Ocean, pro-meat online influencers in Finland, and positive action by men activists in Africa, Latin America, the UK, and globally.
Is masculinity bad for the environment?
Researchers found that overall men tend to have a greater carbon footprint and greater environmental impact through consumption, especially when it comes to travel, transportation, tourism and meat eating.
Multiple studies have highlighted the gender gap in greenhouse gas emissions. For example, a 2025 study involving 15,000 people in France found that men emit 26 per cent more pollution than women from transport and food.
The team also warns that men tend to have “less concern with climate change”, are “less ambitious and less active in environmental politics”, and are less willing to change everyday practices to tackle the growing issue.
A study from last year published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology found that men with higher levels of "masculinity stress" (concerns about appearing feminine) express less worry about climate change and are more likely to exhibit pro-environmental behavioural avoidance, such as avoiding eco-friendly products to maintain a, often, traditional masculine image.
Men also tend to be more involved in owning, managing and controlling heavy, chemical, carbon-based, industrialised industries such as agriculture, along with other high environmental impact and extractive industries, and of course militarism, the paper states.
‘Negative impacts’ of men
“There is now plenty of research that shows clear negative impacts of some men’s behaviour on the environment and climate,” says Professor Jeff Hearn, the paper’s editor and a professor of Sociology at the University of Huddersfield.
“What is astonishing is how this aspect does not figure in most debates and policy in a more sustainable world.”
Researchers add that these “damaging patterns” apply especially to elite, white Eurowestern men opposed to low-income men in the global south.
The paper also acknowledges that some men are working “urgently and energetically” to change these tendencies.
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