Fatshimetrie: When athletes take action for the climate
The world of sport is no stranger to environmental issues, and it was at the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, that this reality was once again affirmed.
During a session dedicated to sport and climate change, former English cyclist Chris Boardman, now chairman of Sport England, highlighted that 65% of children surveyed as part of a study expressed the wish to hear sports stars speak out in favour of a clean and sustainable future. They wanted to see personalities such as footballer Harry Kane take a stand on climate and environmental issues.
The speakers discussed the greenhouse gas emissions generated by global sporting events, but also discussed various initiatives aimed at addressing them.
Olivia Wessendorff, from the International Transport Forum at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, said that around 94% of the emissions caused by last year’s Rugby World Cup in France came from transport.
She highlighted the importance of partnerships with public transport as a way to reduce these emissions, highlighting the example of travelling by train to venues less than five hours away instead of using planes or buses. She said this was equivalent to “taking a million cars off the road”.
Filippo Veglio, UEFA’s head of social and environmental sustainability, pointed out that at this year’s Euro 2024 tournament in Germany, “81% of fans travelled to matches using public transport”.
Impact on Athlete Performance
Climate change is impacting the performance of elite athletes, with high temperatures, air pollution, weather events and clean water posing major challenges.
“Training in temperatures above 40 or even 50 degrees Celsius is extremely dangerous. The air pollution makes you smell like you’ve smoked cigarettes, and the water bodies are polluted with pesticides,” said decorated Indian triathlete Pragnya Mohan.
“Climate change is pushing athletes and citizens around the world to push their limits.”
She is concerned that climate change could have a serious impact on sports like triathlon, and that in some disciplines records may never be broken as athletes are pushed to their limits.
New Zealand footballer Katie Rood pointed out that 120,000 local matches are cancelled each year due to weather conditions.
“Sometimes we cannot train because of poor air quality.. In preparing for the Tokyo Olympics, we faced challenges related to extreme heat. Ice and snow had to be ready before the games. This also meant shorter warm-ups, from 25 minutes to 10 minutes,” she explained.
In the Pacific, wind and weather patterns make training difficult, added Samoan sailor Eroni Lelua. “It’s hard to prepare for events when climate change is making the weather more chaotic.”
Partnerships with fossil fuel companies
Delegates highlighted the issue of affiliations with fossil fuel organizations. More than 130 professional women’s players from 26 countries, with more than 2,700 international caps, came together to call for an end to FIFA’s sponsorship partnership with Saudi Aramco.
“Aramco is the world’s largest state-owned oil and gas company, playing a major role in the climate crisis. The oil giant is also 98.5% owned by Saudi Arabia, which has a history of human rights abuses against women and other minorities, including the LGBTQIA+ community,” they said in a statement titled “Aramco sponsorship is an affront to women’s football.”
“As the world’s largest state-owned oil and gas company, Saudi Aramco is one of the companies most responsible for destroying the future of football. Grassroots football around the world is being devastated by extreme heat, drought, fires and floods, but while we all suffer the consequences, Saudi Arabia is profiting, with FIFA as its mouthpiece.”
Athletes at Monday’s event stressed that sport has the power to inspire millions, and that such partnerships show disregard for those facing the dangers of climate change, many of whom are fans.
They called for new partnerships away from fossil fuels, with organisations working to protect the environment.