Seán Ó Conaill: When Property Becomes Environmental Theft

Here Seán O’Conaill argues that ‘Salvation’ must be understood in climatic terms also to address growing climate fear…  

According to an article in the New York Times in April of this year ^* there are over 5,500 ocean-going vessels in private ownership, globally.

The 300 largest of these together emit 315,000 tons of carbon – about as much as the 10 million inhabitants of Burundi. 

This not only means that the super-rich pollute far more than the poorest on the planet but that they discourage the less wealthy from reducing their own footprint. Queuing up in Istanbul every year in May to see who’ll win the World Superyacht Awards, they sit atop a pyramid of self-indulgence and climate damage that disgraces, and yet now also radically threatens, the ‘developed world’. 

Author of that NYT article, Joe Fassler, argues: “When billionaires squander our shared supply of resources on ridiculous boats or cushy chartered flights, it shortens the span of time available for the rest of us before the effects of warming become truly devastating. In this light, superyachts and private planes start to look less like extravagance and more like theft.”

When will the mega-wealthy realise that the resources we all depend upon for mere survival – clean water, pure breathable air and a liveable climate – are far more precious than the ostentatious carbon-spewing proofs of ‘success’ they surround themselves with?

And, more to the point for Christian clergymen worried about their own ‘relevance’, why are they so slow to trace the connection between the climate crisis and the ninth and tenth commandments of the decalogue – those that warn us not to covet ANYTHING our neighbour owns? Why can they not see the superyachts and private jets of today as the coveted ‘oxen’ of the 21st century mega-rich, even when the latter organise superyacht competitions?

Could the reason be a theological compass stuck firm in the sands of a fixation on sexuality, and an inability to see the Gospel story as liberation from the delusion that holds the mega-rich in chains – the belief that the driving purpose of their lives must be to win the admiration and envy of others? 

The modern digital economy allows Jeff Bezos of Amazon to spend just under half-a-billion dollars on his 417-foot sailing yacht Koru, finished this year. Equipped with three 200-foot plus masts it is reportedly capable of crossing oceans under wind power alone – but if you feel inclined to congratulate Mr Bezos for his carbon-consciousness, think again. The boat’s design prevented the installation of a helicopter landing pad, so Mr Bezos therefore needs a second support diesel-powered yacht for that purpose – named Abeona – which knocked him back many more millions!

So that is the standard for the mega-rich to aspire to now, not just one superyacht, but two (at least)! 

If Koru wins next year’s biggest superyacht award for Mr Bezos in Istanbul, who else will be overjoyed? Those who instead donate any surplus wealth to the cause of a more equal and just world will be far wiser and more content. If they have done so inspired by the Gospel, so will the Christian ministers who have taught them.

A closing question for Mr Bezos: will he be taking the Koru and the Abeona anywhere close to Maui in Hawaii soon?

As for those who still cannot make these connections, just why is that? Isn’t the Gospel telling us that whenever we over-indulge ourselves, someone else must always suffer? Isn’t the Mass, the Eucharist, all about the challenge of self-sacrifice and self-denial – without which there cannot now be a liveable future, or ‘salvation’, for anyone?