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By 2050, it's estimated that almost one in four English football league grounds can expect flooding every year.

But tennis, rugby, athletics and winter sports will also face serious challenges from the impacts of rising temperatures, the author says.

The study finds that sports leaders are, in the main, failing to address the issue seriously.

While the Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted sports as much as any other aspect of social life, many experts believe that this is just a dress rehearsal for the long-term impacts on sport of a world that's way too hot.

Extreme weather events, related to rising temperatures, have already disrupted some of the world's most high-profile sports in recent years.

A typhoon, which wreaked havoc in Japan last year, also affected fixtures at the Rugby Union World being held there.

Smoke from bush fires stopped play at the Australian Tennis Open at the start of this year.

These and many other instances are a foretaste of the future, according to this new study compiled by academic and author David Goldblatt.

As football slowly recovers from the coronavirus crisis, his analysis shows that 23 of 92 English football league clubs will face partial or total annual flooding of their stadiums by 2050.

In the current Premier League, the home grounds of Southampton, Norwich, Chelsea and West Ham face a similar threat.

Cricket faces huge challenges globally as temperatures rise in places like India, Australia and the West Indies.

Venues in Adelaide and Perth will see a 60% increase in days with temperatures over 40C over the next decade.

In golf, one in three British Open courses will be damaged by rising sea-levels, the report says.

Winter sports also face an uncertain future.

Researchers say that of the 19 venues that have already hosted the Winter Olympics, just 10 will be able to hold them by 2050.

But as well as showing the likely impacts of climate change on sports, the new study also looks at the contribution that the sporting industry makes to carbon emissions.

The author says that the scale of CO2 is equivalent to a country like Bolivia at the low end but as large as a country like Spain on the high end.

The estimations are likely an underestimate as they exclude the global sportswear and sports broadcasting industries, who have impacts on carbon that are difficult to calculate.

Whatever the size of its carbon footprint, the cultural significance of sport gives it a tremendous platform to effect change, says the author.

"Sport may be just big enough to register, in terms of carbon emissions, as a small nation state, or a single megacity, but its own efforts are just a fraction of a percentage point of the world total," said David Goldblatt.

"Making a carbon zero world the common sense priority of the sports world would make a huge contribution to making it the common sense priority of all politics," he said.

While some organisations including the International Olympic Committee and FIFA have signed up to a UN action plan to make sport carbon neutral by 2050, the majority of sports authorities have not.

The International Cricket Council is one of those who have not signed up.

Among winter sports, only the ice hockey and skiing federations have joined, "which makes one wonder what the people in charge of luge and bobsleigh think they are going to be sliding on in the future," the report waspishly notes.

The report was commissioned by the Rapid Transition Alliance, a international group of academics and campaigners who argue for a faster response to climate change.

"A first step would be to bring an end to sponsorship from fossil fuel companies and products promoting fossil fuel intensive lifestyles," said Andrew Simms from the group.

"If players also speak out and say they believe clean air and a stable climate matter, millions more will see the possibilities for change. It will not only send a message of hope for the wider world, but it will help to guarantee a planet that is safe for sport."

Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc.

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Climate change: Sport heading for a fall as temperatures rise

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By 2050, it's estimated that almost one in four English football league grounds can expect flooding every year. But tennis, rugby, athletics and winter sports will also face serious challenges from the impacts of rising temperatures, the author says. The study finds that sports leaders are, in the main, failing to address the issue seriously.

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How Climate Change Could Affect the Future of Sports

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How Climate Change Could Affect the Future of Sports

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Storm Team4 Meteorologist Amelia Draper shows how the increased risk of flooding caused by our changing climate could impact the future of sports, especially at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium where this year's Super Bowl will be held.

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As the world warms, one often overlooked issue is climate change's influence on sports and recreation. While not as life-threatening as extreme weather or as costly as droughts, the impact on sports is something that's becoming increasingly common. Athletes are uniquely aware of the connection between health and performance, and how conditions impact health. Players win when they push their bodies to the limit, which makes them more susceptible to changing environments. Below is a sample of impacted sports, though there are more examples, such as skiing (including cross-country), surfing, hunting, and baseball.

Cold Weather Sports

Cold weather sports add at least $12 billion to the US economy annually, employing more than 200,000 people. There is now a rapidly growing movement among professional winter sports athletes and ski industry professionals to speak out about the risks of global warming. U.S. Cross Country Skiing Olympian Andrew Newell has started the Athletes for Action campaign to elevate climate change solutions, and has collected the signatures of over 100 prominent winter sports athletes. The National Ski Areas Association has created the Climate Challenge program, dedicated to helping ski areas reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase energy efficiency. Last year, 75 Olympic medallists in skiing and snowboarding sent a letter to President Obama urging him to take stronger action on mitigating climate change and promoting clean energy.

Warming conditions in turn are impacting the cost of winter sports. Russia spent $50 billion on the Sochi Games, making them the most expensive Olympics ever, with an unreported portion of that cost going toward making and preserving hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of artificial snow. In the U.S., ski resorts are commonly spending 50 percent or more of their annual energy budget on snowmaking.

Iditarod

Alaska had of one of its mildest winters on record in 2016. February 29 was the first February day in recorded history without snow in Anchorage, during what is usually the snowiest time of the year. It is so warm that Alaskan officials hauled in rail cars full of snow for the opening ceremony of the state's iconic Iditarod dog sled race. The race route through Anchorage was also shortened from 11 miles to just three. In total, Anchorage has received only 7.9 inches of snow since December 1, when it normally receives at least 60 inches.

Due to the warmth and lack of snow, the Iditarod was forced to change course in 2015, moving the starting line 225 miles north. This is only the second time in the race's history that the route has been changed, the other being 2003 for the same reason- not enough snow. Anchorage experienced no days below zero in 2014, the first time ever since temperature monitoring began.

Ice Hockey

Ice hockey, particularly when played outdoors, is at risk of becoming an endangered sport. Recent reports are warning of the end of outdoor rinks in Canada, where average temperatures rose 4.5°F between 1951 and 2005. In that time period, many areas of Canada saw a 20 percent decrease in the outdoor hockey season. One particularly emblematic rink has seen a five day decrease in playable days per decade between 1972 and 2013, with 58 playable days in that period, falling to 28 days by 2090.

Winter Olympics

A recent study shows that by mid-century, almost half of the past Winter Olympics host cities would likely be too warm for outdoor Alpine sports. By the end of the century, only six of the 19 previous Winter Olympics cities would be cold enough.

The temperature in Sochi, Russia - host of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games - reached 61°F, making it feel more like the Summer Games. The warm weather was above normal for Sochi, whose average February temperature is around 50°F. The poor snow conditions caused delays, injuries and athlete complaints on many Olympic events like the men's snowboard halfpipe competition, the women's ski jump and men's downhill.

This is the latest instance in a growing trend of warmer weather for the Winter Olympics since at least the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan. The trend is due partly to Olympic organizers selecting warmer cities for the Winter Games in recent years, but is also impacted by climate change. Among all the cities that have hosted the Winter Games since their inception in 1924, Sochi's alpine area lies well in the average ranges for latitude (43 ° N) and altitude (7,000 feet above sea level). This suggests that the threat of warmer conditions will continue to impact the Winter Games.

These findings are consistent with evidence that the effects of climate change have increased average surface temperatures around the world and shortened winter seasons. New England, for example, now has over 22 fewer days of ice cover on its lakes than it did 50 years ago.

Warm Weather Sports

Tennis

The Climate Institute released a report on the threat of climate change to sports in Australia. One particularly compelling example is the Australian Open, which revised its heat policy for 2015, setting an upward limit on ambient temperatures in which athletes can play after 2014's extreme heat became a serious health issue, causing hallucinations, vomiting and fainting. Before passing out in the "inhumane" 108°F heat, Frank Dancevic saw Snoopy on the court. Chinese player Peng Shuai vomited before cramping up. One player's shoes melted, as did another's water bottle and Jelena Jankovic burned her bottom on an uncovered seat.

In the 2015 US Open, athletes competed in temperatures exceeding 90 degrees with 40 percent humidity during the first round, leading to a record 10 retirements due mostly to heat stress. The US Open is the latest in a series of US athletic events that have faced unusual and dangerous climate conditions. While US Open competitor Roger Federer said, "heat really shouldn't matter," John Isner responded, "It's not a fitness thing...that's a big, big misconception."

If you look at the science, Isner is right. In very dry conditions, humans can be physically active outdoors in temperatures of up to 104°F, but in humid conditions, the cutoff drops below 86°F because it is harder for the body to cool itself through sweating and evaporation. When the combination of heat and humidity becomes too high, continued exposure to heat leads to heat illness. As climate change drives temperatures higher and makes heat waves more frequent, we can expect to see more risks to athletes, from professionals to high schoolers.

Football

Football players are particularly at risk to heat due to their warm and heavy padding. This means that players cannot practice during the hottest part of the day, and sometimes have to practice without full padding. One study found that in high school football players, deaths from heat tripled between 1994 and 2009 compared to the previous 15 years. Droughts, like the one in Texas in 2011, make it difficult and expensive to maintain the grass fields.

Fishing

Fly fishing will change as streams warm to the point where fish species can no longer thrive. In Wisconsin, just a 1.8°F increase in stream temperatures will reduce brook trout range by 78 percent and a 5.4°F increase would reduce its range by 98 percent, practically eliminating it from the region. The brook trout is expected to see a 77 percent decline in habitat nationally by 2080. Water temperatures in the Great Lakes have increased by 5°F in the past 30 years.

Golf

Golf is another sport that is extremely vulnerable to changing weather patterns. In 2013, high temperatures and drought made some of the greens at the British Open Championship virtually unplayable. In July 2016, historic flooding in West Virginia engulfed an entire course, which forced the Professional Golfers' Association's Greenbrier Classic tournament to be cancelled. Nutrients are washed away with heavy rain and more areas will be susceptible to erosion, especially near the coast. More than a thousand golf courses in the United States are considered "." Based on the Golf Digest's research by Longitudes Group, out of 1,168 courses less than two meters above sea level, more than half are vulnerable to disappearance by the end of this century. Presidential nominee Donald Trump is designing a sea wall to protect one of his golf courses.

Golf courses are already adapting to the changing climate. Drainage systems are redesigned for more efficient or even recycled water use. Genetic diversity in turf grass will make fields more resilient. On the other hand, found that as early as the 2020s, the average golf season could be one to seven weeks longer and the annual round played could increase by 5.5 to 37.1 percent.

Running/marathons

Heat can have an especially dramatic impact on long-distance running events. Marathon times are typically 2 minutes slower for every 10°F the temperature rises.

The Los Angeles Marathon is traditionally run on the third weekend in March but, last year, when temperatures hit a race-record 90°F, nearly 200 runners needed medical attention, and more than 30 were hospitalized. The event was moved to February for the first time in 2016, when athletes could qualify for the Summer Olympic games, but temperatures were still more than 20°F above average.

The 2012 Boston Marathon was a sweltering 89°F, just one degree short of the all-time high. Winning times were nearly 10 minutes slower than the previous year, when race day was a balmy 57°F. The starting time for the race was changed to earlier in the day in 2006 in an attempt to beat the heat.

NYC's 2012 marathon was cancelled due to Superstorm Sandy.

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Climate Change and Sports | Climate Nexus

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As the world warms, one often overlooked issue is climate change's influence on sports and recreation. While not as life-threatening as extreme weather or as costly as droughts, the impact on sports is something that's becoming increasingly common. Athletes are uniquely aware of the connection between health and performance, and how conditions impact health.

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We've all heard about the dangers of global warming and climate change. It's going to make the oceans rise, drown our cities, kill plants, cause hurricanes and ruin the Earth for our grandkids. But that's all secondary to the real effects of global warming; it's wreaking havoc on the sports world. Here's a look at seven ways climate change is messing up sports.

Marathon Mayhem

Organizers were worried going into last weekend's Chicago Marathon. The temperatures were expected to top anything seen in the marathon's 30-year history, which meant some runners could overheat or become dehydrated. Either way, they knew times would be down. So they responded with new cooling stations, record amounts of water, 700 medical workers on standby and mist adapters for fire hydrants along the route. Even with all that planning, they weren't nearly ready for what happened. One man died from a heart condition and 312 other runners were treated at hospitals or medical stations. The city ran out of ambulances to treat runners and cut the race short, diverting runners to Grant Park, where they later complained of a lack of water. All told, the record-setting marathon (in temperatures only, not speed) was a mess and could cost Chicago the 2016 Olympics.

What Would Balto Say?

Not surprisingly, it's the winter sports that are getting hit hardest by the Earth's rising temperatures. Skiing officials around the world are trying to deal with retreating glaciers in the Alps and melting snow elsewhere in the world. Some estimates say that Aspen won't be able to support skiing as early as 2050. The Lake Champlain Ice Fishing Championship has been scrapped in recent years because the lake hasn't frozen over. Biathlon trials have been canceled. Even the Iditarod, that intrepid Alaskan race, has succumbed to heat. Every year since 2003, the race hasn't been able to start in the traditional starting point in Anchorage because of melting snow and slush. In the race's 30 years before 2003, the starting point had never been moved, but now the "Idita-detour," as one race official called it, has become a bit of a tradition itself.

Snow moves Cleveland to Milwaukee

The 2007 Cleveland Indians season opened with high hopes, but this being Cleveland, those hopes couldn't be realized without a struggle. That struggle started right off the bat during the April 6 home opener against Seattle. With an unseasonable snow storm in town, the players started the game in conditions more akin to a nasty football game (check out one fan's video of the affair here). With only one strike left until the game could become official, the umps decided to call the game due to weather, much to the dismay of the Indians (who were on the wining end of a shutout). Some last-minute rescheduling and subsequent canceling of the remaining games of the series resulted in a four-day break for both teams, who spent the time playing in the snow. The next Indians series, this time against the Angels, was moved to Miller Park, where the teams could play under a roof and not worry about the freak snowstorm that followed the Indians to Milwaukee. The scheduling snafu from the canceled games meant both Cleveland and Seattle had to forfeit several days off to fit the games in and Cleveland would end up playing home games in three different cities.

Miami Dolphins Cool Off

The Miami Dolphins used to be really good, back in the days of the perfect season and Dan Marino. But lately, things haven't been as hot for the Dolphins. That's partly because of, well, how hot it's gotten. The scorching heat during training camp and the early season was endangering players during practices, so the team decided to build an air-conditioned " practice bubble." The bubble, which is oddly both inflatable and hurricane-safe, allowed the team to practice away from the sun and mimic the conditions of a domed stadium. However, it didn't allow the players to mimic the conditions of playing outside in the baking Florida sun. The Dolphins used to have a big edge in early season home games because they were so accustomed to working through the humidity, but since the bubble was built they've gone 5-8 in such games.

NASCAR Refuels

Of all the major sports, auto racing is hands-down the worst for the environment. An event that involves hundreds of cars driving for several hours could only be topped by, say, the World Championship Triathlon of Tree Chopping, Gas Burning and Baby Seal Clubbing (coming this winter to ESPN2). However, stock cars have been taking steps to go greener. The IndyCar Series is racing on 100 percent ethanol, while the American LeMans series has switched to a 10 percent ethanol mixture (every little bit helps). NASCAR hasn't taken the plunge yet, but they're expected to. Of course, given that it took them a couple of decades to switch to unleaded fuels, I wouldn't hold your breath. There's no timeline on a NASCAR switch to alternative fuels, which would also require them to make over the cars to run effectively.

Super Bowl XL, as in XL degrees

The first time Detroit hosted the Super Bowl in 1982, ice storms hit the city and the wind chill effect made it feel like it was 27 below outside. That led the NFL to avoid cold-weather sites; with the exception of Minneapolis in 1992, the Super Bowl didn't go north again until 2006, when it returned to Detroit. Rather than fighting the supposedly inevitable winter storm that would hit the city, organizers decided to embrace it and turn Detroit into a winter wonderland. Instead, global warming threw the city for a loop with highs in the 40's and rain, not snow. A 28-foot-tall snow slide melted and the Motown Winter Blast had to cope with conditions that even made the fake snow melt. All of the intense planning that went into snow removal almost went to waste. It did snow on Super Bowl Sunday, but nowhere near what organizers were expecting, forcing them to scrap most of the snow-themed festivities around the city.

Buggy Baseball

Blame it on the curse of Rocky Colavito, but the Cleveland Indians have gotten hit by global warming twice this year alone. During last week's anticipated series between the Indians and the Yankees, it was the non-roster players that ended up capturing the headlines: a swarm of bugs that set on the field like a plague of locusts in the eighth inning. They buzzed around the players and forced coaches to grab all the OFF they could find. Trying to battle the bugs, Yankee phenom Joba Chamberlain threw a wild pitch that allowed a run to score. Ask any Yankees fan and they'll say they only lost the game, and the series, because of the bugs. The bugs in question, midges, seek out warm weather and usually can't be found in Cleveland in October, when temperatures dip. But the unseasonable weather meant the midges were still around during postseason baseball (where the April-like freezing temps are more the norm) and were attracted by the bright lights of the stadium, where they put their stamp on the path to the World Series.

Note: For more reading on global warming in sports, check out thisexcellent article from Sports Illustrated in March. Also, see this piece from Slate about which spectator sports are best for the environment.

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How Climate Change is Messing with Sports

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We've all heard about the dangers of global warming and climate change. It's going to make the oceans rise, drown our cities, kill plants, cause hurricanes and ruin the Earth for our grandkids. But that's all secondary to the real effects of global warming; it's wreaking havoc on the sports world.

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NPR's Michel Martin speaks with journalist Dave Zirin about how climate change is impacting sports around the globe, including the poor air quality at the Australian Open.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Week 1 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne is almost in the books. There have already been surprises, like Coco Gauff knocking out defending champ Naomi Osaka in the third round. And there have been climate challenges, too - bad air quality because of the wildfires burning across southeastern Australia, intense rainstorms, even a blanket of red dust from a sandstorm. So what does an increasingly warm planet and the unpredictable weather that comes with it mean for tennis and other outdoor Sports? Dave Zirin of The Nation wrote recently about how climate change is affecting sports, and he's with us now in our studios in Washington, D.C., to talk more about it. Dave Zirin, welcome back. Thanks for joining us.

DAVE ZIRIN: Oh, great to be here.

MARTIN: So in your piece, you describe the extreme weather conditions that we've seen at the Open as the tip of an iceberg - of a melting iceberg, in fact. What did you mean by that?

ZIRIN: Well, I meant that this is an issue that sports needs to reckon with, and so far, it has not reckoned with it whatsoever. This is a very evocative example because it's a Grand Slam event, and people are talking about it. But this has been happening for years in sports on a host of smaller and other fronts like less days to play hockey in Canada because the rinks aren't solid ice. I mean, there are melting rinks in Canada.

Other instances like cardiovascular sports, intense cardiovascular sports like cycling and like marathoning have been cut short because of heat. Outdoor skiing is something that has had to deal with the idea of having to store snow on heavy snow days because they can't be guaranteed snow throughout the year. And that in and of itself leaves a tremendous carbon footprint. So on a host of different fronts, we're in a situation where climate change and sports are colliding.

MARTIN: You know, sometimes the international sports entities have dealt with health challenges like the Zika virus during the Summer Olympics in Brazil. I mean, there was open discussion about that. But you've said that the sports world has really avoided having a conversation about climate change. Why do you think that is?

ZIRIN: Well, because it puts the question of whether or not we should even be playing these sports right now under the microscope like in the context of a warming planet. Are there some sports that we should possibly do away with? I mean, when we're in a situation where it's possible that as many as half of all golf courses could be threatened by rising waters by the end of this century, it raises the question about, should we be building more golf courses, which we are doing?

MARTIN: Is that true? Is that true, by the way?

ZIRIN: Yeah, according to - Golf Digest reported on this, that out of 2,090 - out of 1,000 - roughly out of 1,200 outdoor courses that they looked at, half of them are going to be affected by rising waters.

MARTIN: So are sports organisations like FIFA in soccer or the NFL, the National Football League, or the International Olympic Committee, are they built for talking about big issues like this?

ZIRIN: That's a great question. They're definitely built for starting conversations, which is what we need to do. I mean, these aren't environmental emergency organizations that can step up and do the kind of work that we need to help a warming planet. But they are organizations that can start discussions, and these discussions are certainly desperately needed at this point. You're going to see it this summer in Tokyo at the 2020 Olympics, where they're expecting rising heat, and at the next World Cup, which is going to be held in Qatar, where it's going to be extremely hot. And that's why they moved it to the fall instead of doing it over the summer, as they traditionally do, precisely because of the rising heat.

And so in these contexts, there can be discussions that can be had about how sports should operate. How can sports be more green? How can sports not leave such an intense carbon footprint? I think the Australian Open and what's been happening there opens the way up for all these discussions.

MARTIN: And before we let you go, who do you think should take the lead here? I mean, should it be these organizations that are supposed to look out for the interests of the players as well as the integrity of the sport? Do you think it's like the celebrity athletes? This is one of the subjects of your career is athletic activism and how that affects the athletes' lives and careers. I mean, this is something you've written about extensively for many years now. I mean, what do you think?

ZIRIN: I think we're going to need the top athletes in their sports speaking out and speaking out on behalf of all players and treating it like a workplace safety issue. I think if they're able to do that, it provides an opening for speaking about the environmental impact and talking about the impact on the athletes themselves. I do not think we can trust the leagues, the higher-ups in the leagues, which are basically profit machines, from actually trying to say, well, maybe we can't make as much money but also leave less of a global footprint. It's going to take the athletes to step up and make this thing happen.

MARTIN: That's Dave Zirin. He's a sportswriter for The Nation. That's the progressive magazine. He recently wrote about climate change and its impact on sports. Dave Zirin, thank you so much for talking to us.

ZIRIN: Thank you.

Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio record.

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Climate Change Threatens Future Of Sports

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NPR's Michel Martin speaks with journalist Dave Zirin about how climate change is impacting sports around the globe, including the poor air quality at the Australian Open. MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Week 1 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne is almost in the books.

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James Gordon Talks about Hockey and Climate Change

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James Gordon Talks about Hockey and Climate Change

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Outdoor Hockey vs Climate Change Session | James Gordon | TEDxTRU

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The Lost Winter: VICE Sports Climate Change Special

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The Lost Winter: VICE Sports Climate Change Special

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Vice | 2015

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The Lost Winter: VICE Sports Climate Change Special

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Climate Change Puts Future Of Sports In Jeopardy

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Climate Change Puts Future Of Sports In Jeopardy

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Climate Change Puts Future Of Sports In Jeopardy

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Signatories of the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework gathered at The Olympic Museum to define the next steps for the sports community to address climate change. Their meeting - which was the first official gathering of the Framework's participants - was hosted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), ahead of the UN Climate Summit, which starts next week in New York.

"At a time of unprecedented momentum in the crucial global fight against climate change, the sports community is proving, once again, that its power extends well beyond the field of play," said Prince Albert II of Monaco, IOC Member and Chair of the IOC Sustainability and Legacy Commission. "The UN Sports for Climate Action Framework provides a perfect opportunity to use this power to help the world address the threats of climate change to our planet."

"From the development of the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework through to its implementation, the IOC is proud to be working hand in hand with UN Climate Change and other sports organisations to define how the world of sport responds to the climate emergency," said Marie Sallois, IOC Director for Sustainability.

"There are few sectors that are as powerful in engaging people as sport," said Niclas Svenningsen, Manager for Global Climate Action at UN Climate Change. "Bringing the sports community on board the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework has therefore been a high priority for us. The IOC's leadership role in this process has been extremely valuable. We look forward to working closely together on the Framework's implementation."

A UN Climate Change Initiative, the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework was co-developed by the IOC and launched at the UN climate talks (COP 24) in December 2018. It calls on the sports community to jointly develop a climate action agenda for sport, adhering to five principles: promoting greater environmental responsibility, reducing overall climate impact, educating for climate action, promoting sustainable and responsible consumption, and advocating for climate action through communication.

The meeting served as the official launch of the working groups tasked with the implementation of the Framework. The participants discussed the scope of the Framework's principles, potential gaps, mechanisms for measuring impact and the level of involvement of the various sports organisations in their implementation.

Eighty sports organisations have joined the Framework so far, including 14 International Sports Federations (IFs) and the Organising Committees for the next three Olympic Games editions: Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024.

The meeting took place in the lead-up to the UN Climate Action Summit, which will take place on 23 September 2019 in New York. The Summit aims to boost ambition and accelerate actions to implement the Paris Agreement on climate change by showcasing concrete commitments from governments, businesses and civil society.

Sustainability is one of the three pillars of Olympic Agenda 2020 - the strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement - and climate change is a key element of the IOC's sustainability work, in line with its vision of "building a better world through sport". As the leader of the Olympic Movement, the IOC assists IFs and National Olympic Committees (NOCs) in integrating sustainability within their operations, and empowers athletes to leverage their reach and influence to advance global sustainability.

The UN Sports for Climate Action Framework can be accessed here.

The full list of signatories can be found here.

To find out more about the IOC's work on sustainability, click here.

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Sports organisations join forces against climate change - Olympic News

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Signatories of the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework gathered at The Olympic Museum to define the next steps for the sports community to address climate change. Their meeting - which was the first official gathering of the Framework’s participants - was hosted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), ahead of the UN Climate Summit, which starts next week in New York.

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On GREEN SPORTS DAY 2020 (October 6th), The Sport Ecology Group released Season 3 of Climate Champions, the show that shares the stories of sports people who've dedicated their platforms and careers to climate action.

But this season, we did things a little bit differently. In The Listening Sessions, host Dr. Maddy Orr interviews people working at the intersection of social justice and the environmental movement, within the sport sector (yes, these people exist!). They're athletes and activists and coaches and consultants and professors. Each has a different focus in terms of the sports and communities they support, but every conversation is inspiring.

Through the series, it becomes clear that social justice issues are deeply entangled in the same problematic systems that have led to the destruction of our planet. Encouragingly, we also discover that the solutions to these wicked problems often overlap.

It's time to start listening.

The Listening Sessions has 4 parts. Every episode is available at the podcast platform of your choice.

Part 1: What is environmental justice, anyways?

EP 1. Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali - On environmental justice, a starter

EP 2. Dr. Nick Watanabe - On air quality, pollution, sport, and community health

EP 3. Garry Gilliam - On lack of resources and opportunity in Black communities

EP 4. Alexandra Rickham - On what's missing in the sport sustainability movement

Part 2: Sport-specific challenges and solutions

EP 5. Rhonda Harper - On surfing

EP 6. Dr. Asherah Allen - On swimming

EP 7. Henri Rivers - On skiing

EP 8. Dr. Becky Beal - On skateboarding

Part 3: Indigenous sport challenges and solutions

EP 9. Dr. Natalie Welch - On mascots and colonialism in college and professional sport

EP 10. Kathryn Teneese - On the resistance to Jumbo Glacier Resort

EP 11. Dr. Janice Forsyth - On sport in residential schools and Indigenous Sport systems

EP 12. Dr. Tricia McGuire-Adams - On physical activity among Anishnaabe women

Part 4: Pathways forward: How to get intersectional sustainability right?

EP 13. Drs. Ann Pegoraro & Lindsey Darvin - On putting women and POC into positions of power

EP 14. Aileen McManamon, Monica Rowand & Kristen Fulmer - On partnerships and collaboration

EP 15. Charles T. Brown - On designing safe and inclusive public spaces for sport

EP 16. Coffey - On using running and sport as a venue for protest

Find Climate Champions wherever you get your podcasts

Previous seasons of Climate Champions

This first season of the Climate Champions Podcast was an 11-episode limited series featuring conversations with the sport industry's best and brightest climate advocates. Climate Champions leverages the public's adoration of sport to delve into conversations about climate change, zero waste, carbon neutrality, energy conservation, climate adaptation, disaster recovery, ocean plastics, and more.

Based on the feedback from Season 1, we launched Season 2 in Summer 2020.

(SCROLL DOWN FOR SEASON 2!)

This 2 minute episode offers an overview of the Climate Champions Podcast.

Erik Distler and Garrett Wong of the Green Sports Alliance join Maddy Orr to discuss the first ten years of the GSA, the awesome initiatives of their member organizations, and ways for fans to get involved in the sport sustainability movement.

Dr. Daniel Scott, Executive Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change at the University of Waterloo, joins Maddy Orr to discuss the difference between weather and climate, how climate change is affecting seasonal sport and tourism, and the future of the Olympic Games.

Lew Blaustein, Founder and Chief Blogger at the Green Sports Blog, joins Maddy Orr to discuss jobs in the green sport movement, the historical significance of climate change action, and strategies for getting people to pay attention.

Dave Newport, Director of the Environmental Centre at CU Boulder and Chief Sustainability Officer at Phase 3 Sport, joins Maddy Orr to discuss sustainability in college sport, the challenge of monetizing sustainability initiatives, and the potential for Gen Z to make a big impact.

Monica Rowand, Sustainability Manager at University of Louisiana at Lafayette, joins Maddy Orr to discuss zero waste, green transportation, and the importance of aligning values to get people on board with sustainability.

Caroline Gleich, professional skier and mountaineer and Founder of the Big Mountain Dreams Foundation, joins Maddy Orr to discuss her experiences with climate advocacy in schools and in Washington, the importance of spending time outside, and role models in the sustainability space.

Ovie Mughelli, former NFL Fullback and Founder of the Ovie Mughelli Foundation, joins Maddy Orr to discuss the importance of including marginalized communities in sustainability conversations, the potential for comic books and edutainment to connect with kids, and how poor air quality has affected those he loves most.

Joey McColm, Professional NASCAR driver and ambassador for Earth Day Canada, joins Maddy Orr to chat about sustainability in the automotive industry, his experiences with advocacy, and future innovations.

Dee Caffari, 6x Circumnavigator and Chair of the World Sailing Trust, joins Maddy Orr to discuss the role of sport participants and athletes as influencers, ocean plastics in the most remote parts of the world, and how small changes can have big impact.

Linda Gancitano, member of the original USWNT for soccer and Founder of the How Low Can You Go Challenge, joins Maddy Orr to discuss energy use reductions, galvanizing the energy of youth,

Aubrey McCormick, retired LPGA golfer and sustainability consultant to the golf industry, joins Maddy Orr to discuss strategies for addressing politically charged topics with hesitant audiences, sustainability on golf courses, and the impacts of climate hazards (e.g. wildfires, rising sea levels) on golf courses.

It's been over a year since Season 1 of Climate Champions was released and in that time, the world has faced several natural and health disasters including COVID19, the Australian bushfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, and more. It's time to double down on climate action and use the pandemic shutdown in sport to chart a new course for sustainability in our industry. Welcome to Season 2 (and bonus- Season 3!) of Climate Champions.

Dr. Brian P. McCullough, Co-Director of The Sport Ecology Group and is an Associate Professor in Department of Health and Kinesiology in the Sport Management program at Texas A&M University. He joins Maddy Orr to discuss his research, what initially inspired him to take up sport ecology work, and what the new NHL Seattle/Amazon Climate Pledge Arena partnership signals for the new era of sport sustainability.

Dr. Cyrus Wadia is the Head of Sustainable Product at Amazon. Previously, he worked in sustainability leadership roles at Nike and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He joins the show to talk about his upbringing in Upstate NY, an early internship that spurred his interest in sustainability, and the dynamics of leading change in large organizations like the White House, and Nike.

Katie Rood, a professional footballer from New Zealand, currently in the UK playing for Lewes Ferns, joined Maddy on this episode to discuss her childhood and early exposure to sport, her experience playing in Italy, and how becoming vegan invigorated her health and propelled her into an advocacy role.

Dr. Sheila Nguyen is the Executive Director of Sports Environment Alliance and joins the show to discuss her career trajectory, the work happening in Australia and New Zealand to make sport organizations more resilient in the face of climate change, and the Sport for Climate Action Framework.

Chris Dickerson, former MLB player and founder of Players for the Planet, joins the podcast to discuss growing up in LA, his time in the minor league when he activated his first sustainability initiative, taking public transit to games as an MLB player, and how Players for the Planet began and grew.

Adam Kreek is an Olympic Gold Medallist, best-selling author, and leadership consultant who also runs a start-up focused on making carbon offsets available to communities in British Columbia. He came on the podcast to chat about his athletic career, his successes and failures in the business world, and the potential for organizations to go carbon neutral through partnerships with other organizations in their own communities.

EcoAthletes is a new international non-profit that offers athletes the resources and coaching they need to feel confident speaking out about climate change. In this episode, Maddy is joined by EcoAthletes founder Lew Blaustein, strategic advisor Kristen Fulmer, and EcoAthletes members Alena Olsen (USA Rugby) and Jeremy Casebeer (AVP Volleyball).

Joie 'Jo' Leigh was a member of the Great Britain field hockey team that won the Olympic gold medal in Rio in 2016. Following her retirement from the sport, Jo entered a career in climate consultancy. She currently serves as an Analyst for Carbon Intelligence, a London-based firm, and is a member of the Commonwealth Youth Sport for Development and Peace Network.

Dr. Walker Ross, an assistant professor of sport management at Florida Southern College, and Jamee Pelcher, a doctoral student at University of Tennessee at Knoxville, join the podcast to share their unique stories of what inspired them to study sport ecology, and update us on their current research.

In this second-last episode of Season 2, Maddy is joined by Jessica Murfree and Laura Stargel, two members of the 2019-2020 cohort for the Grad Student Mentorship Initiative, hosted by The Sport Ecology Group. Laura is based in Florida and is studying two master's degrees at University of South Florida and German Sport University Cologne. Jessica is a PhD Candidate and instructor of sport administration at the University of Louisville.

In the last episode of Season 2, Hattie Park, Sustainability Manager at the All-England Lawn Tennis Club joins Maddy to discuss sustainable strategy, the importance of biodiversity and natural features to the overall experience at Wimbledon, the role of sports media in aiding sustainability efforts in the sport sector, and how the sport industry can move forward after COVID in collaborative and supportive ways.

Find Climate Champions wherever you get your podcasts

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On GREEN SPORTS DAY 2020 (October 6th), The Sport Ecology Group released Season 3 of Climate Champions, the show that shares the stories of sports people who've dedicated their platforms and careers to climate action. But this season, we did things a little bit differently.

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Podcast: Climate change and winter sports

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By Claire Moore Great Lakes Echo reporter Claire Moore chats with University of Waterloo, Ontario, professor Daniel Scott about how climate change may affect skiing and other winter sports in eastern North America in the coming decades. Scott is the executive director of the university's Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change.

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Climate Change Threatens Future Of Sports

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Climate Change Threatens Future Of Sports

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NPR's Michel Martin speaks with journalist Dave Zirin about how climate change is impacting sports around the globe, including the poor air quality at the Australian Open.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Week 1 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne is almost in the books. There have already been surprises, like Coco Gauff knocking out defending champ Naomi Osaka in the third round. And there have been climate challenges, too - bad air quality because of the wildfires burning across southeastern Australia, intense rainstorms, even a blanket of red dust from a sandstorm. So what does an increasingly warm planet and the unpredictable weather that comes with it mean for tennis and other outdoor Sports? Dave Zirin of The Nation wrote recently about how climate change is affecting sports, and he's with us now in our studios in Washington, D.C., to talk more about it. Dave Zirin, welcome back. Thanks for joining us.

DAVE ZIRIN: Oh, great to be here.

MARTIN: So in your piece, you describe the extreme weather conditions that we've seen at the Open as the tip of an iceberg - of a melting iceberg, in fact. What did you mean by that?

ZIRIN: Well, I meant that this is an issue that sports needs to reckon with, and so far, it has not reckoned with it whatsoever. This is a very evocative example because it's a Grand Slam event, and people are talking about it. But this has been happening for years in sports on a host of smaller and other fronts like less days to play hockey in Canada because the rinks aren't solid ice. I mean, there are melting rinks in Canada.

Other instances like cardiovascular sports, intense cardiovascular sports like cycling and like marathoning have been cut short because of heat. Outdoor skiing is something that has had to deal with the idea of having to store snow on heavy snow days because they can't be guaranteed snow throughout the year. And that in and of itself leaves a tremendous carbon footprint. So on a host of different fronts, we're in a situation where climate change and sports are colliding.

MARTIN: You know, sometimes the international sports entities have dealt with health challenges like the Zika virus during the Summer Olympics in Brazil. I mean, there was open discussion about that. But you've said that the sports world has really avoided having a conversation about climate change. Why do you think that is?

ZIRIN: Well, because it puts the question of whether or not we should even be playing these sports right now under the microscope like in the context of a warming planet. Are there some sports that we should possibly do away with? I mean, when we're in a situation where it's possible that as many as half of all golf courses could be threatened by rising waters by the end of this century, it raises the question about, should we be building more golf courses, which we are doing?

MARTIN: Is that true? Is that true, by the way?

ZIRIN: Yeah, according to - Golf Digest reported on this, that out of 2,090 - out of 1,000 - roughly out of 1,200 outdoor courses that they looked at, half of them are going to be affected by rising waters.

MARTIN: So are sports organisations like FIFA in soccer or the NFL, the National Football League, or the International Olympic Committee, are they built for talking about big issues like this?

ZIRIN: That's a great question. They're definitely built for starting conversations, which is what we need to do. I mean, these aren't environmental emergency organizations that can step up and do the kind of work that we need to help a warming planet. But they are organizations that can start discussions, and these discussions are certainly desperately needed at this point. You're going to see it this summer in Tokyo at the 2020 Olympics, where they're expecting rising heat, and at the next World Cup, which is going to be held in Qatar, where it's going to be extremely hot. And that's why they moved it to the fall instead of doing it over the summer, as they traditionally do, precisely because of the rising heat.

And so in these contexts, there can be discussions that can be had about how sports should operate. How can sports be more green? How can sports not leave such an intense carbon footprint? I think the Australian Open and what's been happening there opens the way up for all these discussions.

MARTIN: And before we let you go, who do you think should take the lead here? I mean, should it be these organizations that are supposed to look out for the interests of the players as well as the integrity of the sport? Do you think it's like the celebrity athletes? This is one of the subjects of your career is athletic activism and how that affects the athletes' lives and careers. I mean, this is something you've written about extensively for many years now. I mean, what do you think?

ZIRIN: I think we're going to need the top athletes in their sports speaking out and speaking out on behalf of all players and treating it like a workplace safety issue. I think if they're able to do that, it provides an opening for speaking about the environmental impact and talking about the impact on the athletes themselves. I do not think we can trust the leagues, the higher-ups in the leagues, which are basically profit machines, from actually trying to say, well, maybe we can't make as much money but also leave less of a global footprint. It's going to take the athletes to step up and make this thing happen.

MARTIN: That's Dave Zirin. He's a sportswriter for The Nation. That's the progressive magazine. He recently wrote about climate change and its impact on sports. Dave Zirin, thank you so much for talking to us.

ZIRIN: Thank you.

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Climate Change Threatens Future Of Sports

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NPR's Michel Martin speaks with journalist Dave Zirin about how climate change is impacting sports around the globe, including the poor air quality at the Australian Open. MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Week 1 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne is almost in the books.

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Olympian Chris Mazdzer on climate change and the power of the athlete voice

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Olympian Chris Mazdzer on climate change and the power of the athlete voice

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PODCAST: Olympian Chris Mazdzer on climate change and the power of the athlete voice

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Episode #1 - The Pyeongchang 2018 silver medallist talks about becoming an IOC Sustainability Ambassador, and how International Federations can support athlete activism Two years ago, you may have struggled to find people outside of the winter sports scene who knew the name Chris Mazdzer.