The French Presidency of the Council of European Union organised a ministerial conference on 3 March entitled “Towards a green and sustainable deal for sport” in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

During this conference, key stakeholders in the EU environment and climate strategy tackled the issues of climate change in the sports sector, covering a variety of key issues in this field, such as the reduction of emissions from individual and public transport, reduction of waste, preservation of natural environments, adaptation to the seasons, promoting the shift to more responsible practices and education on sustainable development goals.  

Among the speakers were French Minister for Sport, Roxana Maracineanu, and the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel alongside members of the European sports movement, societally active athletes, representatives of associations and private stakeholders. 

The overall goal of the event was to raise awareness and mobilise stakeholders in the European sports ecosystem around the issue of making sports and physical activity more environmentally friendly, as well as the shared challenge of changing behaviours to preserve our spaces and practices.

The full program and the speech by the Minister in charge of Sports Roxana Maracineanu, can be viewed here.