Australia skipper Pat Cummins reckoned that climate change is ‘not a sexy topic’ after winning the BBC Green Sport Athlete of the Year. Notably, he faced severe criticism from conservative MP Peter Bone, terming the awards as ‘irrelevant’.
“It sounds like a very strange thing to do. It sounds like they’re trying to push an agenda and I’m not sure why the BBC should be doing that. It looks like the BBC are wasting more license fee money on something that’s not relevant. Either you’re the best sprinter or the best tennis player. I’m not sure what being green has to do with it?” Cummins told GB news.
“We are lucky in Australia that we can afford to put solar panels on our roofs and they will work for us with all the sun that we get. But other countries are going to face different problems. Climate is not a sexy topic. But we want to be able to show that we’ve made a difference, and that it’s not just about words. Now, we want to go big scale and make big difference. I think we can always move faster and I think it’s up to us to show that,” he added.
No one is ever going to be perfect, but we can all do something: Cummins
“Cricket has got a huge footprint, but with that comes a huge opportunity. People look to sports for leadership and it can bring people together. You’re always going to run into people who would rather bury their heads in the sand but that’s OK. Hopefully, we can change minds and show there is a path forward. Flying, unfortunately, is a side-effect of our job but I try to offset every bit of travel I do each year. No one is ever going to be perfect, but we can all do something,” Cummins concluded.
