Sports

How is it connected to sustainability?

Climate change threatens the fundamental nature of sports at all levels. Hotter temperatures, extreme weather events and flooding all affect the ability of sportspeople to train and compete safely. Some of impacts already being felt are snowless slopes at the Beijing Winter Olympics, a super typhoon cancelling matches at the Rugby World Cup and wildfires causing tennis players to drop out of the Australian Open.

Snowless slopes caused by climate change has far reaching consquences. Snow season can become unreliable making it impossible to train. This can lead to:

• athletes having to spend more financially to access artifical slopes or travel further to practice. This can block access for those who don't have the resources to do this.
• ski businesses being impacted as they become financially burdened due to a lack of reliable snow cover.

Furthermore, the impacts of supply chains and sustainability issues on sports unlike fast fashion is less widely known. However this doesn't mean the ecosystem of sport needs to be questioned. Questions about kits production, stadium building and maintenance, the impacts of major tournaments like the Champions' League or the Olympics, are important to discovered if sustainability issues exists.

Although actions such as disposable cups in stadiums or recycled fibre kits for athletes help, they could be considered as sticking a plaster over much wider issues across the entire supply chain. There is a need to question the impact of every step of sport's ecosystem asking questions about carbon impact, role paying a living wage, impact on biodiversity, and on local communities. Solving these issues could go a long way in making progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Sources

Sports for Climate Action Framework

Strive.earth

Forbes

Resources

Find more resources on the intersection of sport and the environment.