Sport and Climate Change: Impacts, Responsibilities, and Future Perspectives
Keywords:
Sport, Climate Change, SustainabilityAbstract
This review study aims to address the multidimensional relationship between sport and climate change with a holistic approach in the light of the literature. As a victim of the climate crisis, sport is significantly affected by extreme weather events such as heatwaves, floods, and droughts, which pose serious health risks to athletes and spectators, damage infrastructure, and lead to the cancellation of events. On the other hand, the sports industry is a significant contributor to this problem. The global nature of sport creates a substantial carbon footprint due to travel, especially for international events, high energy consumption in the construction and operation of facilities, and the culture of consumption. Despite the existence of international policies such as the United Nations Sports for Climate Action Framework, there is a significant gap between declared goals and actual practices due to the industry's growth-oriented business model. The study concludes that the future of sport depends on a fundamental paradigm shift, requiring it to transform from a tool for development into an inherently sustainable model. This necessitates the simultaneous implementation of adaptation strategies to cope with unavoidable impacts and mitigation strategies aimed at reducing the industry's own environmental footprint, and for sport to become a proactive actor for climate action.
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