Sport is also relevant in the domain of climate neutrality thus, UN Climate Change invites sports organizations and their stakeholders to join the Sports for Climate Action. This initiative aims at supporting and guiding sports actors in achieving global goals to fight against climate change.
Sports for Climate Action works towards two overarching goals:
- Achieving a clear trajectory for the global sports community to combat climate change, through commitments and partnerships according to verified standards, including measuring, reducing, and reporting greenhouse gas emissions, in line with the well below 2-degree scenario enshrined in the Paris Agreement;
- Using sports as a unifying tool to federate and create solidarity among global citizens for climate action.
This week, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has joined the UN’s “Race to Zero” campaign, aiming at rallying non-governmental organisations to work towards a carbon-free world. HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco delivered a speech on the topic in Glasgow in his function as Chair of the IOC Sustainability and Legacy Commission. Other sports organisations joining the Race to Zero Campaign include the Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, FIFA, World Sailing, the IBU and Formula E.
In relation to this, FIFA published its Climate Strategy which contains climate-related measures, shows the GHG emissions of its major events and sets 3 goals:
- Make FIFA ready for climate action (review and adapt management systems and regulations to improve processes, strengthen knowledge on risks and impacts of climate change on football, track climate indicators, support climate strategies, etc.).
- Protect the iconic tournaments from the negative impacts of climate change (review regulations linked to FIFA events to increase resilience and reduce carbon emissions, strengthen requirements and support climate action plans, etc.).
- Ensure climate-resilient football development (screen risks for participants and infrastructure, anticipate adverse impacts, implement solutions to prevent damage and ensure continued global development of the game, etc.).