FIFA stressing on the need to tackle climate change – urges immediate action at the conference
FIFA stressing on the need to tackle climate change – urges immediate action at the conference. At the 12th Play, the Game conference in Odense on June 30, FIFA’s Head of Sustainability and Environment Federico Addiechi gave a talk about how international sports groups need to act quickly to stop climate change. At the conference, academics and industry experts from fields like law, sustainability, and governance got together to talk about important issues in sports right now. Addiechi was on a panel with author David Goldblatt, board member Rikke Rnholt from the National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark, University of Colorado Boulder professor Roger Pielke, and consultant Jakob Faerch from the Danish Foundation for Culture and Sports Facilities.
About the Session
During the session, which was called “Playing against the clock: Can sport contain climate change?,” Addiechi said:
“Since 2010, FIFA has been measuring and offsetting carbon emissions, as well as engaging with stakeholders to understand climate change impacts and find solutions. FIFA will continue to take climate action leadership by engaging actively and collectively with member associations, teams, players, fans, other sports, [parties to] the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and other key stakeholders and reaching climate neutrality by 2040.”
He further added:
“As the title of this panel correctly says, we are all playing against the clock. We need to review how we do sport fundamentally, not only to contribute to reducing emissions but also to adapt our sports to the changes in our climate and physical environment so that they can be enjoyed by future generations, just as we have been enjoying them.”
Campaign
FIFA offset all of its own emissions from the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and ran a campaign to educate fans about climate change. In 2016, FIFA was the first sports organization to join the UNFCCC’s Climate Neutral Now campaign. Two years later, at the UN’s Climate Change Conference in Poland, FIFA was one of the first organizations to sign the UNFCCC’s Sports for Climate Action Framework.
At the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Russia, FIFA kept working to help the environment. As part of the detailed FIFA Climate Strategy, the organization then confirmed its UNFCCC pledge at COP26 in Scotland last year and promised to cut emissions by 50% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2040.
FIFA just started a campaign to protect the environment and raise awareness called “Green Card for the Planet.” As part of the initiative, FIFA President Gianni Infantino asked people all over the world to support the campaign by making their own Green Card for the Planet video messages. In these messages, people express what they will do to protect the environment and nominate others to do the same.
In line with the FIFA World Cup 2022 Sustainability Strategy, FIFA and Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy have promised to measure, reduce, and offset all greenhouse gas emissions related to the FIFA World Cup 2022 while also promoting low-carbon solutions in Qatar and the region.
FIFA stressing on the need to tackle climate change – urges immediate action at the conference