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Valloni / News  / SPORT AND THE ENVIRONMENT
13 November 2024

SPORT AND THE ENVIRONMENT

The 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP29, is taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11–22 November 2024.

The aim of COP29 is to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees centigrade by 2030, under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change of 12 December 2015, and to encourage investment in climate action, phasing out fossil fuels, increasing renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions.

These are crucial aims, and sport, with its word-wide reach, has an important part to play in achieving them.

The organisation and staging of major sports events, such as the Olympic games and the FIFA World Cup, produce carbon emissions. For example, flying to and from the events, building stadiums and infrastructures, manufacturing sports equipment, and dealing with waste generated by sports fans and the athletes and their entourages, all of them have a significant impact on climate change.

The potential of sport in climate change action is not only a question of reducing the carbon footprint of sports events, but also promoting climate awareness of the athletes and of the millions of sports fans around the world.

Many sports are rising to this challenge and initiating the corresponding strategies and programmes.

For example, mention may be made of the creation of the UEFA Football Sustainability Strategy 2030, which is designed to “inspire, activate and accelerate collective action to respect …. the environment in the context of European football.”

Another sport, which is responding to the challenge posed by climate change, is Formula 1 with its F1 Sustainability Strategy 2030 and an equally ambitious aim of becoming a net zero carbon sport by 2030.

Finally, the International Olympic Committee has also introduced its own Sustainability Programme for the Olympic Games. Particular mention may be made of its Guide on Sustainability Management in Sports. This Guide aims to help National Olympic Committees, International Federations and other Sports Organisations to “integrate sustainability into their operations and events, addressing issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss ….”

All of them noble aims!

For more information and advice on this most important and pressing issue, email us at ‘info@valloni.ch’.