Rory McIlroy was asked Tuesday in Dubai about his environmental footprint, given his globe-trotting lifestyle, following the recent COP26 summit, which brought together world leaders to address challenges of climate change.
His remark, like the most of his others, was instructive.
“It’s interesting you say that,” McIlroy said in his news conference before the European Tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship. “I flew back to America privately two years ago after winning in China, and it was just me on the plane,” she says. “And I just had a great flood of humiliation wash over me, as if this couldn’t possibly be good and all that.”
As a result, McIlroy and his team contacted the CEO Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to golf sustainability.
“I wouldn’t call myself an eco-warrior,” he explained, “but I don’t want to harm the environment in any case, so how can I make my tour across the world neutral, how can I neutralize what I do?”
Given the opportunity to lessen his carbon footprint, McIlroy now not only pays what it costs to fly privately – he also pays an additional amount (said to be around $200,000 by some accounts) to be carbon neutral by the end of the year.
“It’s something I’m conscious of and take seriously,” he said, “particularly when you see some of the weather catastrophes that are occurring.” “I reside in a location of the world (South Florida) where storms are quite common and are becoming more so as time passes. I believe that we can all contribute in some way.”
