The Sports Community Manifesto at COP26
by Chiara Aruffo
EcoAthletes, an American non-profit organisation that brings together sports stakeholders in the fight against climate change, presented the Sports Community Manifesto at the COP.
COP26 is in full swing these days in Glasgow. Sport has found its space thanks to a series of side initiatives (we talked about them here), and today we want to talk about the Sports Community Manifesto, promoted by EcoAthletes. EcoAthletes is an American non-profit organisation that brings together athletes, academics, scientists, journalists and eco-entrepreneurs in the fight against climate change. To date, 51 athletes are involved (but the number is constantly growing), including former basketball player Alessandro de Pol.
The Sports Community Manifesto
The Sports Community Manifesto was presented on 8 November at the Athletes Day of Action promoted by Sport@COP. The Manifesto was signed by more than 150 athletes and it is titled ‘Anthropogenic climate change is the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced‘. The letter talks about the negative effects of climate change, focusing in particular on the world of sport. For example, it talks about how extreme weather events endanger the survival of certain sports and make it difficult to organise major sporting events. Looking to the future, it is also interesting to note that young athletes will probably not have the same opportunities to experience sport as in the past. Finally, the manifesto closes by calling on athletes, fans, sports organisations, governments and business leaders to unite to implement four main points of COP26:
- Secure global net zero emissions by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach
- Adapt to protect communities and natural habitats
- Mobilize finance to deliver on points 1 and 2
- Collaborate to finize the Paris rulebook
