Preferences for energy sustainability: Different effects of gender on knowledge and importance

There is increasing interest in investigating sustainable energy to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions and promote energy sustainability. We contribute to the existing literature by examining people's’ knowledge of energy sustainability and concerns about the importance of energy sustainability. Therefore, we investigate the linkage between self-reported knowledge and concerns about energy sustainability by identifying the role of gender via concepts of holistic associations and cause-effect logic. This study utilizes a large-scale survey of 100,956 respondents across 37 countries and shows contrasts among individuals. In most countries males report having more knowledge about energy sustainability than females, while females are more concerned about the importance of energy sustainability than males. These results are consistent with the evidence that males are stronger in regard to cause-effect logic and females are stronger in holistic associations. Integrating both styles of thinking would be beneficial for the decision-making process concerning energy sustainability and energy conservation practices. The findings highlight the need for further research to uncover how to integrate both concepts among gender groups to promote better decisions about sustainable energy.