Greta Thunberg, the young Swedish climate activist has an axe to grind with Roger Federer, our Swiss tennis champion! And to be honest not only her, but many other young activists from around the world have been criticising Roger Federer for jetting around the world (some 80’000 kilometers apparently since the ATP tournament in Shanghai last October) and for being sponsored by Credit Suisse (a bank), which invests billions in coal and oil related assets.
While I fully understand and concur with the concerns about global warming and climate change, I also feel that common sense has to prevail. Having been brought up as part of generation X, these considerations were not part of our upbringing, at a time when air travel and hence far flung holidays became popular and petrol guzzling cars were not frowned upon.
But let’s also pause for a minute and look at all the goods we use and consume each day: Most electronic devices (including the ones I am writing this blog on) are made from components manufactured in a variety of places and assembled still somewhere else. The clothes we wear come from places such as India and Bangladesh if not China. Many of the foods we eat are produced abroad, not least if we want to eat some of our favourite fruits and vegetables out of season, such as the grapes I just bought, which were grown in Namibia.
So I suppose we cannot put off the question any longer, how much we are prepared to sacrifice to preserve our environment, not only for ourselves but more importantly also for our children and their offspring. What sacrifices to our own lifestyle are we prepared to make? Locally produced goods and regionally grown foods will be more expensive, some items, if we were very consequent, would no longer be available.
Let’s face it, we all are prepared to make some changes to our life, particularly of we aren’t given a choice, but very few of us only (me not included) will be able to adopt the radical lifestyle of Greta Thunberg, who travelled by hi-tech racing yacht from Europe to the US last year. We have mortgages to pay and families to feed, and our wages and salaries only stretch so far – as Greta no doubt at some point will find out as well.
But the climate activists have a point: Jet-setting celebrities such as Roger Federer could no doubt lead by exemple by trying to be carbon neutral at least as far as their extensive traveling is concerned by donating some of their earnings to offset the carbon emissions their lifestyle engenders. And in this respect Roger has already acknowledged that Greta has a point and that he wants to talk to Credit Suisse about their investments.
Well done, Roger, now let’s hope many more celebrities follow your shining exemple… and as far as Greta v Roger is concerned, this set definitely goes to her.
The grumpy older man 