The Effect of Women’s Parliamentary Participation on Renewable Energy Policy Outcomes

Decreasing CO2 emissions is a top priority of climate change mitigation at all levels of governance. Because 72% of global greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to energy consumption (Center for Climate and Energy Solutions 2020), making notable decreases in CO2 emissions requires moving away from traditional, non-renewable energy sources and towards renewable energy sources. While many investigations have questioned the factors that influence governments to adopt climate-friendly legislation, a growing body of scholarship has demonstrated the significant and positive effects of the increased participation of women in national parliaments on environmental policy and outcomes. While women at the individual level demonstrate greater environmental knowledge, concern, and behaviour than men, the theoretical literature on the descriptive-to-substantive link of representation indicates that women representatives may better represent women’s pro-environmental preferences in government. To determine if women’s growing participation in governance increases renewable energy consumption—a top goal of climate change mitigation—I conduct a time-series cross-sectional analysis of 100 democracies from 1997 to 2017, finding increases in future renewable energy consumption from two to five election periods after women’s election to parliament. These findings contribute both to our understanding of how long it takes for environmental policies to translate into outcomes as well as to our understanding of women’s role in advancing climate-friendly energy policy.