The Swiss tennis player has been under pressure for his association with financial institution Credit Suisse over its record of loans to fossil fuel industries. Federer is currently preparing for the Australian Open.
Tennis star Roger Federer has issued a carefully worded response to mounting criticism, notably from Greta Thunberg, over his association with financial institution Credit Suisse.
The 20-times Grand Slam winner came under fire from the climate activist when she criticized the Swiss bank for its record of loans to fossil fuel industries.
Read more: Bushfires cast shadow over Australian Open
The 38-year-old Federer, who is currently in bushfire-ravaged Australia preparing for the first major of the year, said Sunday he is “happy to be reminded” of his responsibilities, but stopped short of abandoning his sponsorship deal with the bank.
Federer was urged to “wake up” in a retweet by Thunberg last week, which also prompted the hashtag #RogerWakeUpNow to trend on Twitter.
‘Grateful to young climate activists’
Federer said he had a “great deal of respect and admiration” for the youth climate movement inspired by the Swedish teenager.
“I take the impacts and threat of climate change very seriously, particularly as my family and I arrive in Australia amidst devastation from the bushfires,” he said in a statement issued to news agency Reuters.
“I am grateful to young climate activists for pushing us all to examine our behaviors and act on innovative solutions,” he continued.
“We owe it to them and ourselves to listen. I appreciate reminders of my responsibility as a private individual, as an athlete and as an entrepreneur, and I’m committed to using this privileged position to dialogue on important issues with my sponsors.”
Federer said he supported the climate change movement, inspired by teens such as Greta Thunberg (center)
Federer, along with Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal and a number of other players, will take part in a charity event on Wednesday to raise funds to help tackle the devastating fires in Australia that have resulted in the deaths of at least 28 people, destroyed homes and devastated habitats and wildlife.
Credit Suisse says it has pledged to lead the way in helping its clients in the transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient business models. It also recently announced that it will no longer invest in new coal-fired power plants.
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Bushfires ravage Australia
Widespread devastation
Massive bushfires have devastated Australia as the blazes continue to rage across the country. Since the start of one of the worst fire seasons on record, more than 1,800 homes have been burned, tens of thousands of people evacuated, and at least 25 killed. Here, a photographer reacts to seeing the burnt-out remains of a relative’s home in Quaama, New South Wales.
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Bushfires ravage Australia
Battling the blazes
Firefighters protect homes around Charmhaven, New South Wales, on December 30. Wildfires burning across four Australian states that day destroyed hundreds of properties and caused multiple fatalities. A volunteer firefighter was killed and three others were injured after strong winds pushed a fire truck over.
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Bushfires ravage Australia
Red skies
A person stands in protective gear as nearby bushfires turn the sky red in Mallacoota, Victoria. Thousands of people in the coastal region were told to evacuate over the New Year period, while the Country Fire Authority later issued an ominous warning to residents still in the area that it was “too late to leave.” Some 4,000 people spent New Year’s Eve on the beach to avoid the flames.
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Bushfires ravage Australia
Bright efforts
An air tanker drops fire retardant over the Gospers Mountain fire near Colo Heights, northwest of Sydney, Australia on November 15, 2019. The Gospers Mountain fire originated in the Wollemi National Park, and came close to merging with other major fires in the area. The first tore apart the Blue Mountains, a popular tourist area, burning more than 64,000 hectares (158,147 acres) of land.
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Bushfires ravage Australia
Quick escape
A burnt bicycle lies on the ground in front of a house destroyed by bushfires on the outskirts of the town of Bargo, near Sydney, on December 21, 2019. The town was hit with a catastrophic fire danger warning as fires turned several nearby homes to ashes. The New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a state of emergency that same week.
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Bushfires ravage Australia
Animals caught in the flames
A kangaroo that survived the bushfire in Wollemi National Park in Sydney grazes for food in November 2019. The fires have not only sparked concern over human well-being, but have also created worries over the survival of endangered and vulnerable animals. The fires have devastated local wildlife, and a third of the koalas in the most fire-hit region are estimated to have been killed.
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Bushfires ravage Australia
Economic toll
The Insurance Council of Australia said on January 7 that the bushfires have caused at least US$485 million (€435 million) in damage and that number was likely to rise. Separately, authorities warned of looters in towns where people have evacuated and scammers taking advantage of fundraisers for relief efforts.
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Bushfires ravage Australia
Area the size of South Korea razed
As of early January, more than 10.3 million hectares (25.5 million acres), or an area the size of South Korea, have been devastated in weeks of bushfires. More than 170 fires continue to burn in Victoria state and New South Wales.
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Bushfires ravage Australia
Smoke across oceans
Smoke from Australia drifted across the Pacific and reached South America, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on January 7. On January 2, the EU Copernicus program recorded the highest concentrations of atmospheric carbon monoxide in the world over the “clean” South Pacific Ocean stemming from the fires in Australia.
Meanwhile, 12 Swiss climate activists appeared in court last week after refusing to pay a fine for playing tennis inside branches of Credit Suisse banks in November 2018. The stunt was designed to underscore Federer’s relationship with the institution.
They also had placards that read “Credit Suisse is destroying the planet. Roger, do you support them?”
Attorneys for the campaigners said they were appealing the fine of $22,000 (€20,000) on the basis that they were acting as whistleblowers for the climate crisis.
“It is not enough to just go out on the street or to vote, we must disturb a little bit so people stop acting like nothing is happening,” Paul Castelain, one of the activists, told Reuters outside the court in Lausanne at the time of the trial.
Video footage from the stunt shows students wearing tennis outfits playing matches inside Credit Suisse branches in the Swiss cities of Lausanne and Geneva, in the French-speaking part of the country.
