An encounter with a stranger

It is unusually hot on the Sunday afternoon of August 2024 in Trento, Italy. I am in a café bar near Piazza Duomo. The café is almost empty. Unexpectedly, a tall guy in his seventies approaches me and greets “Buon Giorno.” Before I greet him, his next question is, “Parla Inglese?” “Yes! Good Afternoon!” He seemed to be in a hurry. But our conversation lasted for more than four hours.

Who is he? He had an unshaven face but a rich look, wearing a white linen shirt, loose khaki trousers, an Armani watch, and glasses with a golden frame. He had a dejected look, a red wine glass in hand, and his eyes looked like he was trying to make new friends. He told me he was a billionaire and owned many oil fields in the Middle East. He was an Oil baron. But why is he sad? He lost his wife in the recent German floods a couple of months back, the floods caused by climate change. He sank into depression and has still not come out of it. He looks far and mumbles, “What is the meaning of life?”

He enthusiastically narrated how his wealth increased from the early sixties onwards by drilling more and more oil. “I was greedy; I wanted to become rich faster than the other oil barons. It was a ruthless rat race. I did not heed any of the warnings by scientists on climate change.” His glass is empty. He brings some more wine and continues. “Now, I lost my wife. I feel guilty. I feel responsible for her death.”

“But what could I have done? I was in a group of oil producers. I have to follow the norms of the group. I can not deviate. Otherwise, I would become an outcast and lose all my wealth. I was powerless. I asked, what about the Kyoto Protocol? The Paris Agreement? And what about all the COPS taking place annually? He waves his hand and asserts, “Oh, they are all ‘Green Wash’.” He opens up more, finishing one more glass of wine. “Now, I am angry with the members of the group. I hate them.” He gazes into the future and says, “I am anxious about my children and grandchildren. How would they face the climate consequences?”

I console him. Tell him everything is not lost. We still have 26 years until 2050, when we will achieve net zero. I ask, “Don’t you have a nostalgic memory of childhood when the climate was good and the planet was greener? We will bring those days again.” The world requires an annual investment of 2 trillion dollars in renewables to achieve net zero, just 2% of the world’s GDP. His eyes flash like a child. He pledges all his money to the cleantech and promises to convince his peers to do the same.

We hear Beethoven’s Ode to Joy being played by the local symphony orchestra in the Piazza Duomo. The lyric “all people become brothers, where thy gentle wing abides” reverberates in our minds. I hear another melody in the background, the 2nd movement of Ravel’s string quartet. Oh no, that is my alarm ringtone! I wake up with a “happy-ending feel-good” memory in my mind.