Opinion – Marina Izidro: What climate change has to do with the sport you practice

I write this column from Glasgow, Scotland. I’m at COP26, United Nations Conference on Climate Change. It is one of the most important moments in our lives. Limiting global warming is essential to avoid a catastrophe on the planet. What does this have to do with sport? Everything.

Climate change has caused more frequent droughts, floods, heat waves, fires, storms. These extreme weather events happen due to the increase in the planet’s temperature, which, in turn, is caused by the emission of polluting gases that come, for example, from fossil fuels such as coal and livestock. The popular “belch of the cow” is largely responsible for the emission of methane gas, which causes the greenhouse effect.

If the planet continues to warm up, the risk of death from heat, landslides, diseases caused by pollution increases. The consequences are many. If nothing urgent is done, those who practice sports will suffer more and more – from those who run in the street and play football on the weekend to the elite athlete.

At the Australian Open, many matches have already been suspended because of the heat. At the Tokyo Olympics this year, it was so hot that the marathon was held in another city because of concerns about the athletes’ health.

Cases like these only increase. Fortunately, good initiatives too.

In England, Forest Green Rovers is a charismatic club and known for being the greenest in the world. In English football, it is in the fourth division. In sustainability, he is a leader. The stadium roof has solar energy panels, rainwater irrigates the lawn and the entire menu is vegan: players, employees and the hamburgers, pies and pizzas served to fans. It was the world’s first carbon-neutral club with UN certification. The owner was invited to a lecture at COP26.

In the Premier League, a study showed that Tottenham is the “greenest” club in the Premier League, in criteria such as use of clean energy, non-polluting transport, reduction in the use of plastics, recycling, menu with herbal options. The training center has a vegetable garden with organic fruits, vegetables and herbs used to feed the players. This season, they hosted Chelsea in their stadium for a carbon-neutral match. The teams arrived on biofuel-powered buses, there were no plastic bottles, rather a large vegan menu.

At the UN, the sport is represented in a group of 273 members, such as the Brazilian and International Olympic Committees, the NBA, F1 and FIFA. At the climate conference, they pledged to halve their emissions by 2030 and zero by 2040.

Whoever sets a bad example will be increasingly charged. Last month, Manchester United received criticism for taking the players by plane from Manchester to Leicester, a 160km journey that could have been done by train.

And we, as citizens, how do we do our part? In many ways. Voting for politicians who are concerned about the climate emergency and invest in public policies so that we can play sports while breathing less polluted air and using efficient public transport. When going to a game, is it really necessary to drive, eat a hamburger, deliver a paper ticket at the box office, or is it possible to do differently? Saving the planet depends on our rulers and also on each one of us.