EcoAthletes launches COP 26 Sports Community Manifesto

Many believe that the COP 26 global climate conference — which will take place in Glasgow, Scotland from November 1-12 — will be the most consequential such event since 2015, when the Paris Climate Agreement was signed. The hope is that the nations of the world will commit to accelerating their carbon emissions reduction targets to levels that are most likely to avoid the worst case scenarios detailed in the recent IPCC report, released in August, 2021.

Athletes, who face a myriad of unique challenges related to climate change, have not historically taken part in previous COPs. This year will be different.

That is because over 150 athletes, sports teams as well as sports-adjacent organizations, and thought leaders have endorsed the COP 26 Sports Community Manifesto, developed by EcoAthletes, the nonprofit that “inspires and coaches athletes to lead climate action”.

Endorsers want the leaders of the COP to know that they have the support of the global sports industry from around the world to accelerate the #ClimateComeback.

“Sports and the athletes who play them are being impacted by climate change now, from the extreme heat at the recent Tokyo Olympics, to the New Orleans Saints of the NFL needing to play a home game in Jacksonville, Florida due to the devastation of Hurricane Ida, and more,” noted EcoAthletes founder and CEO Lew Blaustein. “By leveraging the platforms of the signatories, this Manifesto will provide the sports community with a much-need voice at the most important climate event in five years.”

“The climate problems we’re dealing with are getting worse and worse, so hopefully athletes can be part of the solutions,” said Brent Suter, Milwaukee Brewers pitcher, EcoAthletes Champion, Advisory Board member and COP 26 Sports Community Manifesto endorser. “I see the Manifesto, which has been endorsed by athletes and organizations from all over the world, as a way for the sports community to show the delegates at the COP that we expect them to take the critical steps toward climate action.”

“I started learning about climate change and instantly became concerned about its harmful impacts now and in the future,” recalled Napheesa Collier, 2019 WNBA Rookie of the Year with the Minnesota Lynx and a member of Gold Medal-winning Team USA at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “This led me to learn more about it, and then I got even more concerned. So that’s when I decided to act. One of my first climate actions was endorsing the Manifesto.”