On 16 December, the EU launched the European Climate Pact. This initiative aims to bring together people, communities and organisations to participate in climate action and build a greener Europe. Participants are thus encouraged to connect and share knowledge on sustainability, learn about climate change and work together on potential solutions. Some focus points of the launch event were: green areas, green transport, green buildings and green skills.
Commissioner and Vice-President Frans Timmermans was invited to give a live interview and to answer questions from the ambassadors of the Pact, as well as from the audience. He reminded everyone that there was “no vaccine to climate change”, and that stakeholders from all fields should work together on societal solutions especially at local levels, while decision-makers have a role to play at international level. “None of this just happens, it’s people”, he said.
Sport was mentioned several times during the event: UEFA presented its pledge for the climate; the Olympic rower Martin Helseth talked about his engagement to gather waste from the underwater; and the Finnish Mayor of Lahti explained how ice hockey players contributed to raise awareness on sustainability among the population.
As sport is a key player in sustainability, sport stakeholders are welcome to take part in the implementation of the Climate Pact in the upcoming years. Some ways to participate could be:
- Become a Climate Pact Ambassador
- Take climate-friendly action and make a pledge
- Register a satellite event
- Connect with other participants to share ideas and knowledge
More information on the event as well as background content to it can be found in our Monthly Report for December.