(TheStreet) - Climate change is at the front of a lot of people's minds these days, especially with locations around the globe reporting record-breaking temperatures this summer.
Businesses have been especially vocal about climate change for years and big box retailer Walmart (WMT) - Get Free Report is no exception.
The company has committed to "science-based targets for emissions reduction, including achieving zero emissions in our operations by 2040," according to a pledge on its website.
But while the company has committed to reducing its carbon footprint, at least one of its owners has a superyacht that will need some repairs after climate activists staged a demonstration over the weekend.
The 110 meter superyacht Kaos -- built by luxury yacht maker Oceanco -- was moored in the exclusive Spanish island of Ibiza when the climate activists got to it.
The vandals used fire extinguisher cans to shoot paint across the backside of the boat, according to the Spanish newspaper Periódico de Ibiza, before holding up a sign that read "You Consume Others Suffer."
The pair responsible were arrested at the scene, but the damage had already been done.
"The only reason we continue to maintain an economic system that leads us to eco-social collapse is to sustain the privileges of this small privileged class," Futuro Vegetal, the group behind the action said in a statement.
There were a record 887 superyachts sold in 2021. It has been estimated that a superyacht with permanent crew, helicopter pad, submarines and pool emits about 7,020 tons of carbon dioxide a year, more than 1,500 times more than the average family car.
The rich have been increasingly called out for their climate change advocacy as people point out that, outside of corporations, the rich are often responsible for exponentially more carbon emissions than the poor.
John Kerry, the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, was recently in front of Congress, awkwardly addressing a question about whether or not he owns a private jet while advocating for stricter rules on carbon emissions.
Kerry is currently in Beijing engaged in high-stakes climate talks with the Chinese government.
By Tony Owusu
July 17, 2023
