Last week, at a pre-Olympics summit, billions in sports sustainability pledges were announced, alongside a number of other initiatives.
The first Sport for Sustainable Development (#Sport4SD) Summit brought together 500 participants, including heads of state and government, and witnessed a number of financial commitments from different parties.
These financial commitments included USD 10 billion in investment at the domestic and international levels for community-based, inclusive and sustainable sports infrastructure by 2030 from a coalition of public development banks and other financial institutions.
In addition, it was announced that the first Impact Fund for Development through Sport will be presented for financial endowment at the G7 Ministerial Meeting on Sport for Development on 3 October 2024 in Pescara and then in early 2025 at the fifth FiCS Summit in South Africa.
The AFD Group also shared that it will invest EUR 500 million in sports for sustainable development by 2030.
It was also shared that the commitments of the Paris Agreement for Sport and Sustainable Development received the support of “more than 60 heads of state and government and heads of international organisations,” including the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres,
“Sport, a driver of solidarity and self-betterment, must allow us to move forward to meet so many of our common challenges, and in particular to invest in our next generations of athletes: education, health, nutrition,” commented Emmanuel Macron, President of France.
Climate change is increasingly threatening the health and well being of both athletes and spectators, with rising temperatures and heatwaves.
Indeed, this year’s Olympics is being hosted against the backdrop of record-breaking heat and concerns for the games’ participants.
Moreover, while the Paris Olympics has seen big financial pledges on sustainability and is aiming to cut its emissions footprint by 50 per cent compared to the London 2012 and Rio 2016 average, such events carry a big environmental price tag, and some critics argue organisers have not gone far enough.
Back in April, in its assessment of the Paris 2024 climate strategy, watchdog Carbon Market Watch said that the strategy’s aim to minimise the event’s carbon footprint is “incomplete,” adding that it “falls short of achieving transparency,” and lacks detailed methodologies and comprehensive monitoring.