Sport and Environment News - May
Access all the latest news and resources in the sport and sustainability space, carefully curated by SEA, right here in one convenient place.
INDUSTRY NEWS
Creating a liveable sporting future through climate leadership, environmental justice and citizen science
Sport around the world offers a rare source of mass communication and media power in an age of fragmenting audiences, technologies, and politics. Grounded in sport’s popularity and visibility, it is a power that underlines the relevance and role of sport in addressing climate change impacts and environmental issues more broadly.
Three areas stand out in terms of how this dilemma is being confronted productively in an effort to create positive change: the rise of climate leaders in sport; the interweaving of climate action with environmental justice; and the role of citizen science.
How Climate Change Is Changing Sports
The Sports are a critical part of human culture just about everywhere in the world. Maybe you played little league as a kid, or like to go to the park for a game of pickup basketball, or even just cheer for your favorite team on the weekends.
Unfortunately, like so many other things, climate change is taking a toll on the world of sports. It’s getting too warm for appropriate ski conditions at ski resorts. Rising temperatures put athletes at risk of heat stroke.
Sand boarding: Spain’s dynamic dune sport
While sandskiing has a growing community in Spain, it is also gaining traction worldwide. Peru is harnessing the potential of its high dunes in areas like Huaral, Chilca, and Ica, now hotspots for both sports.
With climate unpredictability and a shift towards more sustainable forms of recreation, these sand-based sports offer a way to embrace the thrill of downhill racing without the snow, whether on the dunes of Spain or the deserts around the globe.
Climate Crisis And Sport: Present Tense, Future Uncertain
Be it the alarmingly poor air quality in north India, the disastrous floods in Pakistan or the adverse heat in Kenya, climate change is bringing grave challenges to the world of sport with each passing day.
The Olympics are without doubt the grandest, most vivid multi-sport event in the world. How will they be impacted by climate change? Listen to what Julie Duffus, senior manager of sustainability at the International Olympic Committee, had to say at the Sport Positive Summit in October 2022.
“I work with 206 countries around the world. And so many of them now are witnessing these impacts … by the time we get to 2030, we’re looking at losing about 20% of our Olympic nations. Literally, gone.”
What is the environmental footprint of a single football match
For the very first time, we know what it is for FC Porto in Portugal
As part of the FREE KICKS* project, co-funded by the European Union, the environmental impact of a football match for project partners has been analysed and the results are now live
For FC Porto, the most impactful activities are shown as: supporter mobility, stadium energy consumption and food and beverage services
Grassroots sport faces severe disruption from climate change
Tens of thousands of football and rugby matches cancelled; thousands of hours of cricket lost; golf courses threatened. No sport is immune from the heatwaves, floods, storms and droughts which climate change brings.
In response, Sport England has today published #EveryMove - their new strategy to help support the sport and physical activity sector respond to climate change.
BASIS has long advocated for a strong framework for climate action and sustainability in sport. Their Chair, Dr Russell Seymour, has described #EveryMove as 'a step change for sustainability in sport' and BASIS will be actively supporting our members to harness this strategy and make the UK a world leader in sustainable sport.
Sport England launches new strategy to deal with climate change
Every major sporting body in England must have robust sustainability plans in place before 2027 or face funding cuts, Sport England said on Thursday as part of a 45 million pounds ($56.98 million) investment to help deal with climate change.
Climate change is a new hurdle for children’s physical activity levels in Canada
The ParticipACTION Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, the most comprehensive assessment of children’s physical activity in Canada, recently gave the country a D+ in overall physical activity.
With already low grades for children’s physical activity, climate change is emerging as a new barrier for children and youth to get more active.
CLIMATE CHANGE & SUSTAINABILITY NEWS
Mitigating climate change is no longer enough. Europeans need protection
PAmidst the relentless onslaught of extreme weather events, it is no longer enough — though crucial as it is — to mitigate climate change.
We also need to learn to live with the consequences, which are happening here and now and affecting the most vulnerable European citizens and regions the hardest.
Recent findings from the European Environment Agency reveal that Europe is the fastest-warming continent on the planet. Climate hazards are affecting everything from energy and food security to ecosystems, infrastructure and public health.
Climate change: World's oceans suffer from record-breaking year of heat
Fuelled by climate change, the world's oceans have broken temperature records every single day over the past year, a BBC analysis finds.
Nearly 50 days have smashed existing highs for the time of year by the largest margin in the satellite era.
Planet-warming gases are mostly to blame, but the natural weather event El Niño has also helped warm the seas.
April smashes global heat records
The world just experienced its hottest April on record, extending an 11-month streak in which every month set a temperature record, the European Union's climate change monitoring service said on Wednesday.
Each month since June 2023 has ranked as the planet's hottest on record, compared with the corresponding month in previous years, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a monthly bulletin.
Adapting workplaces to climate change
SOUTH Africa's scorching summers and unpredictable rainfall are becoming the norm, not the exception. This changing climate is not just a weather inconvenience; it’s a growing threat to worker safety.
New EU sustainability standards requires firms to upskill
Companies big and small have been given the new responsibility of ensuring their governance structures are compliant with fresh EU regulations. In addition to governance structures, they must also be compliant with sustainability policies.
ASAP Cheat Sheet: A guide to sustainability communication in the sport sector
Why is communication important for any sustainability programme or strategy? Simply put, it will make or break any sustainability program.
SandSI resource library
Explore global case studies in sport and sustainability in the Sport and Sustainability International (SandSI) resource library.
Sport Ecology Group resources
The Sport Ecology Group, a collective of industry experts & researchers, have created a site with various educational and research opportunities.
Click here for more information.
Olympic Games Sustainability Essentials
The Olympic Games has launched Sustainability Essentials, an informative series of guides to help Olympic teams manage sustainability programmes.
Do you want to know what to do and how to start your eco journey?
The Future proofing community sport & recreation facilities: A roadmap for climate change management for the sport and recreation facilities sector resources can help support your journey. Free to use!
This project was developed by the Sports Environment Alliance in partnership with the Victorian Government.
UNFCCC Sport for Climate Action Framework
We encourage you to become a signatory of the UNFCCC Sport for Climate Action Framework. Join a global network of sport leaders who will engage and enact the five (5) principles of the framework.t
