Gender and climate action

It is well-known that men and women differ in their views regarding the severity of climate change, but do they also differ in their support for climate policy and in undertaking climate action? Previous evidence on this question is inconsistent, but unique survey data from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency enable us to answer it in the affirmative. Swedish women worry more about climate change and perceive it to be a bigger threat than men do. Furthermore, women report a greater support than men for policies to mitigate climate change through political interventions, and also undertake more voluntary actions to achieve this goal. More generally, the results suggest that women and men differ in their willingness to alter behavior and support policy to help mitigate other large scale crises, such as global pandemics.