We need a clear decision to go towards that transition – and we need to include everybody. We need an organised transition out of the fossil world and this needs lots of money. Saudi Arabia is the world’s biggest producer of fossil fuels but Agag reiterates his “pragmatic approach to environmentalism. I am doing exactly what I want to do, which is to help change in Saudi.” Go talk to young Saudis in the streets … when I had my speech in Saudi I had 5,000 females applauding me. “Go to Saudi and then we have the discussion again. If we isolate them, we’re not going to help them. For me, those young Saudis saying: ‘We never in our life thought we could dance in the streets in Saudi’ makes it worthwhile. If I didn’t believe the current regime is changing positively, probably we would not go to Saudi. Does Agag have no misgivings in accepting money from Saudi? “It wasn’t even financial. There are also public beheadings in Saudi – where feminism and homosexuality are regarded as “extreme” and unacceptable. It’s perfectly right to express his views.” What did Agag feel when, before the Jeddah Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton stressed he was uncomfortable being in Saudi? “Lewis has a very clear position on homosexuality rights. Yet, in Saudi, Agag and his colleagues were silent about the abuse of human rights. And it is changing.”Įxtreme E emphasises the importance of education and speaking out against the climate crisis. I only make my additional argument – we need to change. Of course it’s very difficult to keep them separate but positive change is happening in Saudi. “So do I not travel to the United States anymore? If we mix sport and politics, we will have very few places where we can race. “I agree with Amnesty and they make the same point about Guantánamo,” Agag says. Amnesty reports that 10 of them have made allegations of torture. Hathloul has now been released, but she remains under a five-year travel ban, while other female activists are still detained. Last December she was sentenced to five years in prison. In May 2018 she was detained without charge and Hathloul has since spoken of the torture and sexual abuse she suffered. I remind Agag of how Amnesty International highlighted the case of Loujain al-Hathloul who fought for gender equality and women’s right to drive in Saudi. Look, for example, at the fact women can drive now.” The situation is not as we would like it in Europe but it’s definitely a huge change. If you ask Saudi women how they feel about the changes happening in their country they are absolutely enthusiastic. “But in Saudi they’re making big changes in favour of women. “I’m a big supporter of Saudi, of the current Saudi change, and I always say nobody’s perfect,” Agag says. So Jamie Chadwick, the 23-year-old British driver who recently won her second W Series, races against men of the calibre of Sébastien Loeb, the nine-times world rally champion who is part of Hamilton’s team. This noble mission is deepened by the fact that every team features male and female drivers. Agag suggests that Extreme E will raise awareness of biodiversity loss in Dorset alongside the sporting drama of whether Hamilton’s team, X44, can catch Rosberg’s drivers.Įxtreme E is the first sporting entity to place the climate emergency at its heart. This final race of the season was meant to be held in Patagonia, with the cars shipped rather than flown across the world, but Covid forced a switch to Dorset. I said: ‘Let’s wait Covid out and find places where we are sure we can race.’ Most of my day is spent putting fires out.” “In Greenland we only got the permits to travel one day before and we already had millions and millions of euros of expenditure over there. In some places we need a million tests, a million forms, a million regulations. It’s incredibly difficult because sponsors are more cautious and executing the race is so complicated. A former politician, who at the age of 25 was the personal assistant to the Spanish prime minister, Agag admits: “It’s been a bigger challenge than starting Formula E. Without any crowds, as events are televised and audience engagement is online, the carbon footprint of each race is negligible.īut setting up a new sport in the midst of a global pandemic has stretched the 51-year-old Spaniard. Apart from aiming to showcase Extreme E in locations which have been hurt by the climate crisis, their electric cars make zero emissions. We are pragmatic people worried about the environment.”Īgag has the charisma to draw significant figures into a form of motor sport which, he says, “is unique because Extreme E is a race which leaves no trace”. As we combine motorsport and climate action, it was attractive for them. “When we showed them the project all three liked it a lot. “It was not difficult to attract them,” Agag says of Hamilton, Rosberg and Button. Alejandro Agag, founder and chairman of Formula E and the driving force behind Extreme E.
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