Olympic.org: Sport Positive Summit Highlights Powerful Role of Sport in Addressing Climate Change
Representatives from United Nations Climate Change (UNFCCC), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and sports organisations from across the world came together last week for the first edition of the Sport Positive Summit – a global meeting place for sports effecting positive environmental impact.
Created in collaboration with the IOC and UNFCCC, the virtual Summit brought together over 500 participants to discuss the role of sport in the global fight against climate change and post-COVID recovery.
“Sport reminds us of our collective ability to overcome the seemingly impossible,” said Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, addressing the participants. “The convergence of the two global crises, climate change and COVID-19, has opened a window of opportunity to not simply recover from the virus, but to build forward, to build cities and communities that are safe, healthy, green and sustainable.”
The Summit was designed as the annual meeting place for the signatories of the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework, a UN Climate Change initiative to develop a climate action agenda for sport, in which the IOC took on a leadership role. The event showcased the climate achievements made so far by the Framework’s signatories, with calls for more organisations to join.
