London-based Canadian businessman Craig Cohon crossed the finish line on the Galata Bridge in Turkey on the morning of June 5 after five months of walking, to promote carbon capture. The climate activist walked 4,250 km (2,640 miles) from London to Istanbul.
Cohon’s challenge saw him trek through 14 countries over 153 days. He was joined by a series of 77 guest walkers as he passed through 82 cities and towns on his journey. He said his efforts are a metaphor for the “action and consistency” needed to tackle climate change.
The businessman-turned-climate activist walked 25 km to 35 km (15-22 miles) per day beginning from Trafalgar Square in central London on January 3. He set about trying to make up for his carbon footprint two years ago when he donated one million US dollars of his pension fund to carbon removal projects, which take away carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. His Walk It Back campaign promotes such projects.
Cohon passed through countries like France, Belgium, Germany, Poland and Hungary on his journey. He recalled walking across a bridge in the Netherlands where there were “thousands of diesel trucks,” walking down a canal between Hanover and Berlin where there were barges transporting coal, and sleeping at a truck stop next to the largest steel plant in eastern Germany. Despite the experiences, he was encouraged daily by walking with 77 different people across the challenge, including chief executives, activists and journalists, who discussed the issues of carbon removal, he said in an interview.
