Ilona Amos: Women - the greener sex - would save the planet

My gender is often described as the fairer sex, not to mention quite a few other things that I might be best not to mention here. Apparently this has nothing to do with our more acute sense of justice, but rather it refers to our aesthetic attributes. Whether or not this is an appropriate description is an argument for another time.

Men would rather save cash than planet, unlike women. Picture: Andrew O'Brien

It may not be as poetic, but what I can say for sure is that women are the greener sex. Yes, it’s official, according to a new survey carried out by independent researchers as part of the Scottish Government’s national campaign to battle global warming.

More than 66 per cent of my countrywomen who were polled say they perform all or most of the measures they are aware of in an effort to reduce their impact on the environment. This compares to under 59 per cent of men doing the same things.

I’m delighted – and perhaps also a little smug – on behalf of my gender, but I will admit that some of the findings have come as a bit of a surprise to me. Especially since a higher percentage of men than women claim to know a great deal about climate change.

Discovering that eight in ten Scottish women are concerned about the problems facing the planet is certainly encouraging. Levels of awareness of the perils faced by “dangerous” rises in global temperatures have probably been boosted by recent events such as widespread coverage of negotiations at the international climate summit in Paris at the end of last year, not to mention the increasingly turbulent weather we are witnessing at first hand on our own shores.

I find it mildly shocking that, despite all the high-profile warnings of rising sea levels, oceans turning to acid and mass extinctions of our wildlife, only two thirds of male Scots have the same level of alarm. And nearly a quarter of them actually admit they are not worried about climate change – this is despite previous surveys suggesting around half of all Scots believe global warming is an immediate and urgent problem.

I am not sure why we are seeing such a marked gender divide when it comes to eco-friendly behaviour. But I’m not going to let that stop me taking a wild guess.

My inner cynic (I know, it’s hard to believe such a thing exists) is tempted to suggest that some of the results could be skewed slightly by the type of greening actions being measured in the latest study.

Honest, I’m not saying men don’t know how to use the washing machine or the cooker… however, results show nearly 40 per cent of women use low-temperature washes, compared to just 30 per cent of men. Meanwhile, more than half of women said they tried to buy only the food they need and use it before it goes off, against 42 per cent of men.

Interestingly, though, the findings suggest men are more motivated by saving not just the planet. Where more females of the species said they took steps such as turning down thermostats, walking instead of taking the car and recycling or composting food waste to be more environmentally friendly, a higher percentage of men said they did it to save money.

So maybe Scottish ministers should launch a new campaign to run alongside the Greener Scotland initiative. A drive that will bring round those sceptical, canny men by appealing to their pockets instead of their eco-conscience.