Column “Purified and Enlightened” about honest efforts: From green hypocrites and true people

class=”sc-29f61514-0 icZBHN”>

Hypocrisy and hypocrisy are not only common in Catholic churches, where some believe that they are directly connected to God and therefore allow themselves to do whatever they want. There is also everyday hypocrisy, which works where there is a green spirit. This becomes obvious when you compare the green confessions with the facts, according to Matthew 7:16: “By their fruits you will know them.”

They are us—or at least some of us. Climate, heat and transport transition? Are you kidding? Are you serious when you say this? Whether it’s Lufthansa, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, British Petroleum or Unilever – the numbers don’t lie: share prices are rising again. Airfare prices are also rising, as is the number of commercial aircraft in use around the world.

There were 139,000 aircraft by mid-year, according to Flightradar24, the highest level since the service launched 17 years ago. Gabor Shteyngart, the German super-journalist (Pioneer), recently put it this way in a briefing: “Everywhere in the developed world, most people eat, drink, shop, heat and live differently than they say.”

Except for Switzerland? Think! A few numbers:

• The number of passenger cars is significantly increasing along with the population. If in 2012 there were about 4,255,000 cars, then ten years later there were already 4,721,000.
• Registration of electric and hybrid vehicles is growing. But be careful – more than 90 percent of the private car fleet still runs on petrol or diesel.
• Has the perceived shame of flying limited the desire to fly among those of us obsessed with mobility? Nobody. In the first half of 2023, the number of air passengers in Switzerland will be almost 90 percent of the number in 2019 – the best year in the history of flights, which was followed by a decline due to corona.
• Okay, but surely people will limit their living space to reduce emissions? Not really. The need for space per person has not weakened for years – in 2021 it was already an impressive 46.6 square meters.

Time to despair, cry, foam? Not at all. Because today we all live more environmentally consciously than before. Resource consumption – and with it CO emissions₂-Emissions – decoupled from economic growth due to technological progress. We always do more with less.

Hand on heart, no one wants growth and prosperity to stop – except for a few climate activists and media activists. Mr. and Mrs. Schweitzer are neither ascetics nor saints, and sometimes even real hypocrites. But at the same time they try very hard. In short, these are, if not truthful, then at least sincere people!

René Scheu is a philosopher and managing director of the Institute for Swiss Economic Policy (IWP) in Lucerne. He writes to Blick every other Monday.

Source: Blick