Sport at COP27: The initiatives driving change at 2022's UN Climate Change Conference

In the lead-up to COP27, this article forms the final part of our series outlining important expectations for the UN Climate Conference – both in terms of sustainability overall and in terms of sport and sustainability more specifically.

As noted in our article published two weeks ago discussing sport at COP26, the 2021 conference renewed ambitions across the sport industry to continue driving progress towards the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Earlier this month, the sports industry met again at the Sports Positive Summit, solidifying the urgency with which the sport industry looks to address climate change.

With less than two weeks until COP27 begins, we want to look ahead at how and where sport will be leveraging its influential position in advocating for action on climate change and drive change on a global scale. For a quick recap of important expectations for the conference as a whole, please refer to our article published last week.

Sport at the Climate Action Hub

As political discussions and negotiations will dominate the rest of COP27, sport's most prominent presence at the conference will be felt at the Climate Action Hub. The Action Hub offers a platform for non-Party stakeholders to showcase efforts to tackle the climate crisis being made across civil society, local government, and the private sector. The following conference-wide thematic days will involve Action Hub events hosted by leaders within the sport industry.

Science & Youth (Thursday 10th November)

On the 10th of November, fittingly also World Science Day for Peace and Development, representatives of the UNFCCC Sports for Climate Action Framework, the FIA, Formula E and Envision Virgin Racing are set to take the stage in a panel entitled "Race against Climate Change: Accelerating the Transition to Zero Emission Mobility". Beginning at 4PM GMT, they are set to discuss how motorsport can drive innovation for a more sustainable future and inspire global behaviour change.

Nike, long-time leaders in sport apparel, are set to host a webcast titled 'The Race Towards a Sustainable Future'. In their most recent impact report in 2021, Nike discussed how they were able to donate 1.2 million sporting products, which otherwise would have been recycled or destroyed, to schools and community organisations through key partnerships. Whilst this initiative helped the company in driving progress for its zero-waste targets, it also delivered on its commitments to get more children involved in play and sport worldwide.

Decarbonisation & Industry (Friday 11th November)

Athletics Kenya have been leading efforts to raise awareness on and improve air quality in Kenya. Since joining the UNFCCC Sports for Climate Action Framework in 2021, Athletics Kenya have installed air quality sensors in the Kasarani Stadium, Nyayo Stadium, the Nairobi National Park, and Nakuru Athletics Club. These sensors are enabling new data collection for the investigation of air pollution impacts on sport, whilst also informing mitigation policies. In discussing these efforts and more, Athletics Kenya will present 'Accelerating Climate and Air Quality Actions through Athletics' at the Climate Action Hub.

Later in the day, the NBA, one of the most watched and followed sport leagues worldwide, will introduce their webcast 'Finding Our Superpower'. The NBA's climate action progress includes partnering with the Green Sports Alliance on the Green NBA initiative, aiming to reduce operational impacts, increase awareness, and raise funds for environmental protection. A key success of the initiative thus far has been almost half of all NBA arenas receiving LEED certification.

Biodiversity & Oceans (Wednesday 16th November)

With less than 100 days left to the start of The Ocean Race, one of sailing's toughest team challenges, they are scheduled to host the presentation titled 'Connecting Climate Action and Ocean Rights, Human Rights and Corporate Rights'. Nature is at the heart of The Ocean Race, with the global yacht race addressing issues such as pollution and industrial overfishing. The race uses sailing as a platform to educate, inspire, and drive action for the blue planet. Earlier this month Generation Ocean was launched, a new secondary school learning programme aimed at educating young people on the vital functions of the ocean and marine ecosystems, as well as encouraging community learning on ocean rights.

Solutions (Thursday 17th November)

In line with achieving Net Zero by 2050, global transport emissions must drop around 20% by 2030. A key solution for this lies within low emissions forms of transport, including cycling. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), governing body for international competitive cycling events, is a key partner of the Cycling Cities Campaign, launched at COP26 by the?Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP). The initiative aims to have safe cycle lanes for 25 million more people by 2025 and grow cycling in at least 250 cities. The UCI will discuss this and more in their webcast named 'How to Create a Cycling City'.

Sport had a notable presence at COP26, and it is expected that showcasing these sport-led initiatives will continue to inspire the ambition with which the industry has tackled the climate crisis thus far at this year's climate conference. Climate action is integral in securing a sustainable future for the sport industry, but it is also the industry's responsibility to leverage its influential position to drive change on a global scale.

This article wraps up our lead-up to COP27 series, but make sure to follow Enovation Consulting on LinkedIn to keep up-to-date with new articles coming regularly, all discussing important news and topics within Sustainability and Sport.