I should start by saying I love sport, and am an enthusiastic (but not very talented) participant in various sports. The health and social benefits are of course significant; despite the stress periodically brought on by a poorly performing team!
However, does sport have a problem with climate change? I don’t claim to be an expert in sport and climate change, so post this to generate discussion in an area of interest. Sport is becoming more global than ever before – this can be a good thing, as it can encourage and enable healthy, fair and enjoyable competition between nations (rather than other more negative nationalist approaches). It does however, bring significant environmental impacts. Not just Formula 1 shipping large quantities of equipment and people around the World, but also the trend to open up competitions to participants from further afield. For example, Toronto Wolfpack’s recent promotion to the Rugby Super League (congratulations to them) means that ‘in 2020 rugby league - and British sport - will have its first ever North American club playing in the top flight of the domestic league’ while the Premier League has dallied in the past with a round of matches outside of the UK. While countries and regions which have not hosted major sporting events must be given the chance to do so, with for example the Middle East hosting the World Athletics Championships, the sight of huge air conditioning units in the Doha stadium did grate a bit. While there is much debate on the impacts that a changing climate will have, and is already having, on athletes and events, are sports organisations doing enough to mitigate this effect on their athletes? I recognise that Tokyo 2020 has a strong sustainability ethos, picking up and building on London 2012’s approach, and sports organisations such as World Rowing have made commitments to reduce their impact, but is enough being done? If the movement of athletes and spectators around the World is expected to continue, and to expand, are sports organisations doing what they can to reduce impacts? This includes working with spectators, suppliers, communities, athletes, sports centres, and events. Comments are closed.
|
Archives
January 2022
Categories |