Former London-based Canadian entrepreneur Craig Cohon began his walking journey in January 2023 across 14 countries. He founded a global environmental campaign, Walk it Back. The climate activist is walking 2500 miles to remove his lifetime carbon footprint. He is expected to reach Istanbul, Turkey probably on 4th June.
Craig Cohon an entrepreneur turned climate activist, set off from London on 3-January-2023 and is due to reach Istanbul on 4-June-2023. The day coincides with his 60th birthday.
He took up the mission of walking to reduce carbon footprint and aimed to walk more than 2,500 miles (4023.36 kilometers) across Europe. He has already walked around 2,100 miles across 11 countries alongside 77 other climatic and political activists.
Cohon founded a global environmental campaign called #Walk it Back to encourage international dialogue on CO2 removal. With this campaign he aims to remove 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide.
Born in Chicago and raised in London, Craig Cohon was previously a global brand manager for Coca-Cola and helped company launch in Russia. He was also the co-owner of Cirque du Soleil Russia for 8 years.
During his walk he said in an interview, “I initially felt guilty when I started this walk, but 120 days later as I enter 3,500 km, that emotion is shifting to immense gratitude. I am grateful to be in a place where I can keep on learning about climate issues and how we get ourselves out of this consumer and consumption loop.
I felt like I wasn’t doing enough as a human. I realized I had done some damage to the environment. I wanted to go on a listening journey across Europe to meet people where they are and understand how important climate issues are.â€
Further Craig added, “It’s not about me prophesying. Everyone knows the state of the climate. But I want to accelerate our connection to common humanity. I am becoming more inspired by the people I meet every day.
When I speak to an old farmer in Serbia who talks about how the climate affects his crops and his family, I want to do more for the climate.â€
The reason behind Craig Cohan walking journey was his concern for common humanity and his mission is to inquire not advocate. Craig further added, “People think walking is slow and takes too much time, but it is the opposite. It connects you faster to people, to the environment, to conversations and to humanity.â€
Presently, Craig Cohon is living on a boat on the river Thames and claims to be the first person to remove his carbon footprint. He also contributed more than $1 million in carbon removal infrastructure finance. This contribution was to remove 8,147 tons of his CO2 emissions since he was born. He also invested his personal pension fund in carbon recapture companies.
A climate activist is walking 2500 miles to remove his lifetime carbon footprint. And during his journey across countries, he was accompanied by citizens up to a certain distance. Even mayors walked with him, and they exchanged information that benefited them both.
Also Read: World’s First Carbon-Neutral Backpack that Captures CO2 Emissions to Increase its Strength
About Craig Cohon
He was born on 5-July-1963 to George Cohon and Susan Silver Cohon. His father was a former lawyer and founder of McDonald’s in Russia and Canada.
He inherited entrepreneurship skills from his father but his concern for the environment came from his mother who was a philanthropist. He is an Economics and Music graduate but had interests in student politics, and media during his student days.
During his 35-year-long business career, Craig Cohon understood the problems and importance of the environment. This encouraged him to invest in social and environmentally driven businesses across the world. In 2000, the World Economic Forum named him “A Global Leader for Tomorrowâ€.
In 2021, he became the 1st private citizen to undertake a personal lifetime carbon audit following COP26. Then he discovered his lifetime carbon emission was 8,400 tons. He is not a trained athlete, but he walks 15 to 21 miles (25 to 35 kilometers) almost every day.
His journey began in UK and walked across France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. Craig Cohan walking journey will be completed in Turkey where he is expected to reach on 4-June-2023.
Source: Craig Cohon
