Kiwi women are much greener than men, at least when they travel. This is the revelation of a study performed on the New Zealand travel industry, which showed that women generate fewer greenhouse gas emissions than do men when traveling. The research was conducted by The University of Otago in New Zealand and shared on the Science Direct website.

The study, led by Dr. Carolina Shaw, with assistance from researchers Marie Russell, Michael Keall, Sara MacBride-Stewart, Kristy Wild, Dory Reeves, Rebecca Bentley and Alistair Woodward, looked at transportation data of nearly 50,000 people from 2002 to 2014, using information supplied by the New Zealand Household Travel Survey. The research showed that, despite men traveling by bike twice as much as women, the female segment was more apt to use more diverse forms of travel in general, and generated less greenhouse gas waste.

The group explains in its findings, “Women took more trips, but travelled between 12-17 per cent fewer kilometres per day and were more likely to walk and use public transport than men. Thus, women overall had a more diverse and lower greenhouse gas emission travel profile than men.” They added, “Men are more likely to cycle than women in NZ and cyclists get more physical activity. Nonetheless, analysis across all travel (irrespective of regularity of cycling status) suggests that women use more diverse travel modes and generate lower greenhouse gas emissions than men. Better consideration of the social processes shaping travel is needed to create policy, institutions, programmes and infrastructure that achieve the long-term goals of the transport system, such as increasing cycling and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

The results come almost in tandem with a report on overall greenhouse gas emissions in the country. Statistics New Zealand published a report yesterday that shows changes in the emissions in New Zealand over the past decade. It showed that household emissions have increased by 11.8% over the period, bringing the percentage dangerously close to the same level of 13.2% seen from the manufacturing industry.