08/03/2021

(AU) Sport Set To Reckon With Impacts Of Climate Change, And Encouraged To Act Now

ABC Sport - Tracey Holmes

Bushfires in 2019 and 2020 made conditions hazardous at sporting events in Australia. (AAP: Craig Golding)

Sports globally are reckoning with the impacts of climate change, no longer seen as an issue far off in the distance but one that is being felt today.  Snow and ice sports are suffering from less snow, more rain and shorter winters.

Summer sports have been impacted by increasing heat for longer periods, as well as worsening air quality and smoke hazard from bushfires.

And yet, as the recently released Climate Council report Game, Set and Match: Calling Time on Climate Inaction says, the implications of climate change do not feature in the Federal Government's National Sports Plan.

The Climate Council suggests Big Bash League, AFLW, the Tour Down Under, the Australian Open Tennis, the A-League and W-League competitions, amongst others, are all threatened by changing conditions.

A new report into climate change and Australian sport says summer leagues could be placed in jeopardy. (AAP: Julian Smith)
High-profile athletes like seven-times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton and former Australian Rugby Union captain David Pocock are vocal environmental advocates — although they have been criticised for being so.

Next month a new motor racing series, called Extreme E, will see eight teams driving electric SUVs in five remote, environmentally challenged locations. 

The aim is to showcase what environmental damage could do to sports if left unchecked, through the power of a spectacularly visual sport.  
Formula One champions Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg each own a team in the series, and former Australian Rally Car Champion Molly Taylor will be driving for Rosberg Xtreme Racing.

Taylor told The Ticket she originally thought it was a hoax when she received a social media message from Rosberg wanting to discuss her involvement.

"It's pretty clear from a quick conversation the passion he [Rosberg] has not only for sport but the purpose behind what we're doing in terms of tackling climate change and using sport as a bit of a vessel to raise awareness and do something positive," Taylor said.

Extreme E will race in Greenland, Senegal, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Argentina, committing to finishing the inaugural series with a climate-positive footprint.

"They [the organisers] sat back and said what do we need to do? What do we need to be looking for in the future? How do things need to change?" Taylor said.

"Why not make a 500-horsepower buggy that is all electric and why not go one weekend to the sand dunes of Saudi Arabia and one weekend to a glacier in Greenland? Why not?

"For them to put their money where their mouth is, it means a lot.

"They are setting a precedent that we are going to see so many changes in the future of our sport and we're going to be looking back and saying that Extreme E was at the forefront of it all."

Sport can lead the way in Australia

Along with Extreme E, organisations such as the International Olympic Committee and the Australian Olympic Committee have become signatories to the UN's Sport for Climate Action Framework which will have a direct impact on Brisbane's plans for the 2032 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Commonwealth Games Federation required the Gold Coast to sign up to a sustainability framework ahead of hosting the 2018 event, resulting in an award-winning legacy.

Alpine skier Zali Steggall, a Winter Olympic medal winner, is now a member of Parliament sitting on the House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy.

Winter sports have struggled with shorter winters and more rain. (Supplied: Australian Olympic Committee)
It is currently conducting an inquiry into two climate change bills and when submissions closed just over a week ago, more than 6,500 had been received from organisations and interested parties, including sports bodies.

The Australian Olympic Committee made a submission on behalf of its 45 member sports with another from athlete-driven movement FrontRunners — spearheaded by co-founders Emma Pocock and her husband David.

Steggall says it is important the voice of sport is heard on matters of national significance such as climate change.

"Why it was so important was the Prime Minister said in question time he won't be told by the international community what kind of policy we're going to have in Australia," Ms Steggall said.

"So it's important that Australians get that opportunity to really voice their concerns about something so at the core of our culture of sport … that risk from climate change impact.
"We absolutely have to acknowledge those risks and address them … the health impacts are quite dire.
"Acting on climate is not just talking about the energy and fossil fuels, its actually about preserving core aspects of our way of life which will be at risk if we do nothing.

"At the end of the day one doesn't exist without the other — we won't have sport, we won't have healthy societies without healthy environments."

Brisbane Olympics to think ahead

Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll said "it's important to show leadership by doing things, not just saying things".

All 45 member sports will be asked to commit to measurable initiatives with a firm deadline.

"Some of the sports that are already looking at the issue … and making changes — rowing, rugby. I know that snow sports are looking at sustainable practices at resorts," Carroll said.

The Brisbane 2032 Games will have to adhere to the IOC's sustainability requirements.

Any new stadia for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics would need to be accompanied by a sustainability plan. (International Olympic Committee's (IOC) feasibility assessment)
"There are no questions asked, it just has to be, so the design of the Games has to ensure carbon neutrality," he said.

"There is a huge emphasis on existing venues, not to build anything new.

"But if you do have to build new ones, what is your sustainability plan? How are they going to operate? And then that goes through to transport and so forth."

The threat posed to the sports industry is so significant, according to FrontRunners chief executive Emma Pocock, that athletes and governing bodies need to be in step with each other.

"It's such an important industry to Australia, it's worth something like $50 billion, it employs hundreds of thousands of people.

"And it's something that is really important to our cultural identity so athletes are very invested in trying to understand the issues and how they affect their sport and what they can do with their governing bodies."

Emma Pocock says every level of sport from grassroots to elite is being challenged.

"We're hearing stories of clubs in fire and flood-prone areas who can either no longer get insurance or their insurance premiums are going up four or five times and making it really unaffordable for those clubs to be able to continue," she said.

"Often that's in regional areas where sport is really the fabric of the community so it's a question for the grassroots as much as the professional end." 

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