Sport, climate and the future of resilience

As climate change reshapes the world around us, sport is increasingly feeling the effects - from extreme heat and flooding to disrupted schedules and threatened facilities. In this episode, Phil is joined by Claire Poole, Founder and CEO of Sport Positive, to explore the growing intersection of sport, climate change, and resilience.

Together, they examine the environmental cost of mega-events such as the FIFA World Cup and ask whether global sporting competitions need to be reimagined in an era of climate uncertainty. What would a climate-conscious approach to awarding, scheduling, and delivering major events look like? And are there examples already leading the way?

The conversation also explores the power of sport as a storytelling tool. While climate science and policy can struggle to connect with wider audiences, sport has a unique ability to engage people across cultures, communities, and generations. Could it become one of the most effective ways to communicate climate resilience?

Finally, they turn to the communities on the front line: local clubs, volunteers, and fans already adapting to changing conditions. Claire explains how sport can move beyond raising awareness to become a practical force for resilience, inclusion, and local climate action.

Thank you for listening to this episode. 

For any comments, questions or insights please contact phil.emonson@jbaconsulting.com.

Visit our website jbaconsulting.com
or follow us on LinkedIn JBA Consulting | LinkedIn

Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:02

Hello and welcome to the Climate Resilience Podcast brought to you by JBA Consulting. I'm Phil Emmonson, and in this podcast series, we unpick some of the complexities, challenges, and opportunities on the topic of climate resilience with some inspirational thought leaders. Whether you're working on local adaptation projects, planning for climate risk, or simply looking for hope, backed by science, you're in the right place. If you enjoy these conversations, be sure to follow the podcast and subscribe wherever you listen. Share with your friends and colleagues too, anyone interested in building a more resilient future. Now, let's jump into today's episode. This summer, the world has come together for the biggest sports show on earth, the Men's Football World Cup. Billions of us are watching and celebrating and moaning about the drinks' breaks. But there is another story here, because this could be the hottest, the most polluting World Cup ever. Matches are being played in extreme heat, and fans are traveling thousands of miles. It's a global spectacle that is both reflecting and contributing to the climate challenge that we're facing. But sport can also give us something really powerful, because if we want it to, sport can be a way of making climate real and visible in people's everyday lives. So sport can play a really important role in the storytelling of climate and climate resilience. Because when climate change affects sport, both in the elite game and the grassroots games, people notice. And for me, that's where this conversation can get interesting. Because while we talk about elite tournaments and global audiences, the same impacts are being experienced on Sunday League football pitches that are waterlogged, or in mass participation summer sports like cricket and athletics and tennis that are being cancelled because of extreme heat. Amateur players like you and I, young and old, perhaps losing access to sports altogether. So in today's episode, we are asking what if sport could lead society's pursuit for climate resilience? And can sport become one of the most powerful tools for climate action? And for this, I am delighted to be joined by Claire Poole from Sport Positive, who is right at the heart of this conversation. Claire works globally at the intersect of sport and sustainability and climate change. Claire, welcome. I'm delighted to have you on the podcast. Um, it's great to have you. Um perhaps you you could start by introducing yourself.

SPEAKER_00 2:31

Yes, of course. Thank you so much for having me. Phil, it's a pleasure to be on the podcast with you talking about this very timely and interesting topic. So my name's Claire Poon. As you said, I'm the founder of Sport Positive. Our organization basically exists to support and enable sport organizations globally to turn environmental sustainability and climate action into strategic advantage. So we equip them with insights, connections, expertise to strengthen commercial values, build resilience, enhance reputation, and deliver really meaningful impact. We are not a consultancy, we call ourselves like an agitator for change and we host summits and awards, and we do a weekly podcast ourselves, we have a weekly newsletter, I do a lot of media and social media, and basically it's raising awareness about how sport needs to take responsibility because it does have an impact on the environment and on climate change. But more importantly, how can we use the power of sport to engage with people who perhaps aren't already engaged around these topics and cut through to a new audience in a way that feels local and resonates with them?

SPEAKER_01 3:35

Lovely. Well, we're going to touch on a lot of that this afternoon. Um, you know, how sport can cut through and the impact it has and the responsibility that sport um has as well. Um, I'd like to start with the World Cup because we're right in the middle of it, and I referenced it in the in the introduction there. Um, you know, there's been a lot of discussion, hasn't there, about its environmental impact from the heat to fan travel to the scale of emissions, to the scale of emissions of FIFA, the FIFA president's private jet. Um I think a lot of people have called this the most polluting World Cup ever. Um, so let's start with quite a big question. Uh we'll go straight in. Um we've got the World Cup, but at what cost then, Claire? Let's start there. At what cost?

SPEAKER_00 4:21

At what cost? Well, this is a massive question. I'm conscious that your podcast probably isn't 12 hours long, Phil. So we'll try and cover off the we'll try and cover off the main the main headlines because there is a lot to unpack. Um as you mentioned, so the the FIFA Men's World Cup, especially is the biggest mega sports event in the world, right? It brings people together like nothing else. Even, you know, you might argue even more so than the Olympic Games. We have a lot of national pride. Actually, football fans are very tribal, they've got a lot of national pride. Um, and you know, we literally saw in the in the early stages of qualification of thousands of people taking to the streets in different parts of the world who don't usually qualify because of the joy of appearing. So, first of all, I think it's important to caveat, because we do talk constantly about the environmental impact, that of course we must underpin this that there is social benefits, there's global benefits, there's community benefits of bringing people together in an ever more isolated online world. So I think it's you know, we we we always talk about at what cost, and that's what we're gonna get into about the environmental cost and how we should be reducing that and mitigating that. But often people come to me and they're like, Well, you must hate sport then because you're always talking about how it's so bad and it's like exactly the opposite. I love sport. I want, I want to watch sport, I want to play sport, I want all of the future generations to have the incredible privilege that we've had of seeing so much elite sport played at an incredible level in an incredible way, and it's because I love it so much that I want it to continue. So I think that's really important to caveat at the start. Um, this comes from a place of love and the fact that we want it all to continue, of course. But as you as you said there at the start, there is, we have got this tournament that is taking place over Canada, the US, and Mexico. The distance as well, I think when you actually look at a map, the distances are vast. So, yes, we often think like, oh, how big is that compared to say Europe? The distance between like Vancouver and Mexico City is like four and a half thousand kilometres. It's only six thousand kilometers from London to New York. So they're the sort of in terms of the scale and the distance that we're travelling between games. It's not in our European context like going from London to Paris. We are talking really, really big distances. Then on top of that, we've now got an expanded World Cup. We've gone from 64 matches to 104 matches because previously there were 32 teams involved. Now there's 48. So a 50% increase in the number of teams as well. The teams themselves traveling is gives an additional impact, but obviously the bigger impact is how many more games are staged in the knockout stages, and then how fans are traveling to support their teams and how far they're traveling. So travel is a big one. Let's be fair to FIFA, they have chosen to host in a way that means there has been no new brand new construction of stadiums, which obviously happened in Qatar in 2022. So they've there's been some retrofitting, you know, there's been some updates. Um, the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City had some improvements, and there's there's been things happening, but the majority of the stadia were there pretty much the way they are. So the construction emissions aren't there, but the travel is. Then another element beyond the actual staging of the tournament is I'm sure you've seen, and maybe some of your listeners have seen, a huge amount of coverage of sponsors of the World Cup as well. So the fact that this massive tournament is sponsored by Saudi Aramco, which is the biggest carbon emitting organization in the world in terms of oil and gas, um, and the impact of that and the socialization of oil and gas at this level, and then the trust that they are garnering by being so visible around such a prestigious tournament. We've also seen um smaller scale, but still quite visible in Mexico protests against Hyundai in terms of their environmental impact um on the mining side because of some of their components. So less covered in the mainstream media in the West, but a lot of local protests around that sponsorship as well. So we've got these big in terms of at what cost, which was your original question, there's optics versus the actual impact. The actual impact is coming from the fact it's much larger, there's so much more travel. Some of our colleagues at Scientists for Global Responsibility have said if you add in the impact of some of the sponsors, like a Ramco, instead of looking at the biggest polluting tournament in the world, which they've said is probably going to be about 9 million tons of carbon dioxide, if you add in the impact of projected sales of Saudi Aramco after this, you're looking at 30 plus million tons of CO2 carbon emissions equivalent. So depending on what lens you look at it, it varies. But the top and bottom of it is it's very difficult to have a tournament at this size and scale and say it is environmentally sustainable.

SPEAKER_01 9:25

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I as you say there is there is so much to unpick here. And as you were talking, I was starting to wonder um, you know, should we be looking at how these global sporting events are awarded and scheduled? But actually, as you said at the top, there is so much good in terms of community and social value, etc., that comes alongside it. So I suppose my follow-up question actually then is are there good examples of global sporting events that actually get it right on climate and sustainability? What have we seen in the past?

SPEAKER_00 10:01

Yeah, this is a really interesting one. And I think just to follow on from what you said there about the positives as well. I mean, just I was thinking about it when you were saying it, like, you know, the Tartan Army in Boston, like how obsessed has everyone been with the Scottish fans in Boston, um, or people who've never been to the US before being like, look at the size of this drink, what's happening, or whatever. Like, I think that, you know, the benefits of that sort of stuff can't be um underplayed. And also a lot of, if you're on chronically online, like I am, a lot as well of conversation around like look at all these fans coming together and consoling each other when one team loses, and fans not kicking off at each other but consoling each other, and the fact that actually on a human people level, there's a lot of chat online of like it's the politicians that are the issues, because when it comes to countries, the actual people involved are brilliant. So I just think that's really important in terms of the benefits. So, around how global sporting events are, I guess, awarded, how they're scheduled, and what they look like in good examples. There's a couple of things I'd I'd mention with this. So the first one, actually, obviously, um, which is not exactly about environmental sustainability, but it's a very important logistical issue about how global events are awarded and is who actually bids for them. Phil. That's one of the things we've seen a lot. Let's before we even get into how it's delivered. The 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games are a great example of this. They're coming up this summer. For those who have followed it, they were actually awarded to the Australian state of Victoria in the first instance in 2023. But they then withdrew because projected costs ballooned. I think it was from like a couple of million Aussie dollars. And then they were like, this is gonna end up costing us like six billion, B with a billion with a B, not million. Um, and then they were like, We haven't we're gonna have to withdraw, we can't afford to host these events. And Glasgow stepped in and they said we'll do a smaller, more sustainable, lower cost games because we're sort of stepping in to help here. So the first question is in like how um we're looking at global sporting events being awarded, like who's actually bidding for them? So, first of all, it's important to think no matter who's hosting them, usually it's because of who's bid for them. And fewer countries are bidding for major sporting events. Again, at the Men's World Cup this summer, projected um room nights, for example, were dropped massively. So, what they thought the economic benefits were going to be in certain cities didn't come to pass, and we saw a huge drop right before the World Cup of room nights being sold, much lower than they'd been priced at in the months previously, just to get the rooms filled. So there's that kind of conversation first before you even get into the environmental side. Then we've seen a shift just again from a macro perspective from uh mega sporting events being delivered to one place and more into a regional model. So, again, if you're into the Olympics, you'll have noticed the winters this year. We're in Milan, Cortina, so between the city and the mountains. The next ones coming up, we've got the Alps in 2034. So again, not one place in France, but the whole Alps region. And then 2034, which had originally been Salt Lake City, is now Salt Lake City, Utah. So again, this idea of a regional model of trying not to build new venues, trying to reduce, trying to reuse existing facilities, trying to spread economic benefits, trying to improve long-term sustainability. In terms of good examples, well, better examples, let's say, because I think there's always room for improvement. But I think actually UEFA 24 and 25 are probably the closest thing we've got to in an ideal world what you're looking at for a mega sport event. So UEFA 24, men's um European sports football championships were in Germany, and then women's Euros 2025 were in Switzerland, in both cases, taking place in stadias. So existing infrastructure, little to no new builds, and high-speed rail, high-speed reliable rail in place between the majority of the venues and the ticket price embedded into the cost of fans taking a ticket to the match, so the the the trail, the train or transport on the day being embedded in that cost. So benefit to the fans, and then more of encouraging use of sustainable transport as well. So there isn't, I think there's still loads of improvements. That the biggest impact always with MetaSports events is international travel, and as long as planes run on jet fuel, and there's always going to be a large omission to that. And so there is always room for improvement. But I think those Euros in the last couple of years is like if we're looking at how to reduce operational impacts, they're probably the latest, most up-to-date, good examples of what let's say better looks like.

SPEAKER_01 14:52

Brilliant, brilliant. And I and I do want to get on to um the the power of sport to tell the story of climate change. And I also want to get into grassroots, but before before we sort of move on from this topic, I here in the UK, um, I know you work with a number of sporting organizations. Again, which which which UK sports organisations do do well on this topic?

SPEAKER_00 15:18

Yeah, there's, I mean, there's heaps, to be honest. I think in terms of there's depending on your depending on your flavour of sport of choice, um, we have a lot, you know, we have a lot of world-class facilities and globally recognized brands in the UK. It is a home of sport. We've got Wimbledon. Happening, Wimbledon have a huge amount of environmental responsibility efforts in place, a lot around biodiversity in nature, impact reduction, reducing single-use plastic, and running their fleets on EVs and this kind of thing. So we have like your major things like um Wimbledon Lords, for example, one of the first sporting brands to run on 100% renewable energy in the UK. Um, so we have these amazing um sort of jewels in the crown, if you like, of the sporting space, and the same like Premier League or um Premier League clubs, many now have committed to impact reduction targets of 50% reduction by 2030 and net zero by 2040. Formula E is based out of the UK, although it's a global touring. You know, we have an E pre in London, and they're obviously sort of the pinnacle of sustainable sport. Um, God, who am I missing? Rugby, loads of loads of rugby plants clubs like Northampton Saints doing great things around um again, their impact reduction and resilience measures, around a lot happening in golf. It could go on. So, but there is, I think the the thing, it's always it's a heartening question, Phil, to be honest, about who's doing good stuff, because sometimes, because the because of the urgency of the climate crisis, it can feel like there's not enough going on, it's not quickly enough, it's not scaled. But then when you've asked me that question, I'm like, God, I could talk to you for hours about all the cool things that so many different sport organizations in the UK are doing. And then that's not even mentioning the likes of Forest Green Rovers, who are like the greenest football club in the world, 100% vegan food, you know, like very low impact and and hugely engaged around this topic. So there is that's really heartening to be honest, as difficult as it is in the current landscape, is um, there is a huge amount of work happening and it is scaling, it's just we want it to be quicker.

SPEAKER_01 17:24

And and that's a brilliant bridge then to this next next discussion topic because there is some really good stuff happening. We probably need to champion it more, we probably need to raise awareness more of what sport is doing. And one of the most um consistent topics that we've had on the podcast over the years is the importance of storytelling um to build climate awareness and resilience and how difficult it is for policy and science to cut through. But I think sport could succeed. We have that global reach, we have the local connection, we have an emotional connection. So, sport can be a really um powerful language for climate storytelling if we can raise that awareness. So, what what are your thoughts on on how sport can do that?

SPEAKER_00 18:13

So, first of all, sport is an incredible allegory, if you like, for the fight against climate change. Like, sport is all about being down in the third quarter or the second half and pulling it back in extra time, or taking our heads. Like, we talk a lot about the climate comeback. Some of our colleagues in the US coin that a lot with their work with athletes, like, how can we talk about the climate comeback when everything seems to be stacked against you and things are worse? Sport that is a realm in which we are used to seeing the tables turn very quickly and the dialogue changing. So it's a great, um it's a great thread to actually talk about. And the same with athletes. There's a real thread there in terms of athletes set a goal the same way as we set climate goals. And they don't know exactly day by day what it looks like to get to that goal, but they do know they set a big, hairy, audacious goal of taking an Olympic gold or winning the Champions League or whatever that looks like, or at a grassroots level, taking a local league cup, whatever it is. We set these goals and then we're like, right, day to day, how are we gonna get there? How are we gonna turn up? How are we gonna do a little bit, constantly improve 1% better every day to get to this big goal together? And that's exactly what we have to do with climate change, isn't it? The climate crisis. So sport is a really useful storytelling tool in that way because it makes people, I think there's pretty much everyone, even if you're not a sports fan, um, even if you just played sport for a year in school or whatever, like people understand that feeling. So it's kind of helpful to get resonate. But then in terms of, as you said there, sadly, policy and science does struggle to cut through, which is I always think it's bananas. It's like going to an oncologist and them telling you something and you being like, cool, okay, but I really would need to hear it from an influencer before I believe you. It's like these these people are the experts, they know what they're talking about and they're telling us, but it's being politicized, it's being spun, and therefore we need other trusted figures to be able to connect with people on this messaging. And athletes are one of those trusted voices that we can use when they speak authentically about protecting the places they train or how they can engage audience in that climate conversation. It does really cut through more so than perhaps political leaders or scientists, unfortunately on the scientist side, because they're the ones who know everything. Um, but I think the other big things to mention here around storytelling are making the climate crisis tangible. So again, you know, we'll probably talk more about grassroots. You've mentioned that. But things like, you know, climate change, one of the biggest challenges with climate change is it's moving too fast for it to be palatable, but it's not visible enough in the moment every single day that we feel the urgency. But everyone has either got kids who've missed five matches over the winter because of waterlogg pictures, or they're a run, they're a runner themselves and they're like, God, well, here's another heat wave coming. So if I'm training for something, I need to get up at 5 a.m. to get the running, because there's no way I'm doing it at 11am because it's going to be too hot. These climate adaptations that we're seeing, people and recognize them more, they're more familiar to us. So we need to connect those more with the climate crisis. Um, and then also, as we've mentioned with the Men's World Cup happening, we're seeing adaptation and resilience in action in terms of yes, the lamented hydration breaks, but when they're actually needed, they are a climate adaptation. Um that we need, especially uh, you know, obviously some of them, the ones that are taking place inside stadiums, maybe not, but the ones that we're gonna see where they're taking out place matches that in stadiums without roofs in high. Heat and high humidity, those hydration breaks are massively important climate adaptations. And then just more broadly, I think the storytelling acts uh element is reaching more diverse audiences around this. You mentioned, you know, across generations, cultures, political divides, and there's opportunities to talk about things in a way that feels local and real to people. There's a way to create hope over fear, you know, the Cristiana Figueres' podcast, like outrage and optimism, like we have to keep that hope as well. We can't just terrify people into doing this because we go into ourselves. So the sport elements of building on the belief that challenges can be overcome through collective effort, as I said, really mentions. And then you already said that local stories and global challenges. So no matter how global or well-known a sporting event is, or a team is, or whatever you're watching, it is taking place in a community. So it doesn't matter how well known a team is all over the world, it is happening in one singular community, and those communities are being affected by environmental conditions. So we can really lean into that local experiences, global climate trends, and helping people understand it's a global issue, but it's a really local reality.

SPEAKER_01 23:13

Of course it is, of course it is. You're absolutely right. And in many ways, um that again that brings us really neatly onto this conversation then around grassroots. And I think you've sort of touched on some of these impacts, and it's it's it's really interesting. So um uh we we had to rearrange this podcast. We were due to to do it uh last week, um, during the period of extreme heat. Um we had to rearrange it because my son's school sports day was cancelled because of the extreme heat. Uh and that and that sort of changed changed my plans. Um you've said about how many uh you know foot football matches might be cancelled in a season at grassroots level. Um it's not inconceivable to think that park runs you know could be affected and are being affected, and they're really popular, right? Hugely popular. So you're right, the impacts are already very real for sports fans and and and participants of sport. And uh this this might be quite a powerful question about whether we're at risk of losing sport in some places. Hopefully we're not, it's about adaptation. So I think you've you've touched on how some sport can adapt, but it's that local positive response. So, yeah, how how can sport really at the grassroots level become a really positive force uh in reaction to some of those climate challenges, Claire?

SPEAKER_00 24:40

So, first of all, let's just highlight the challenges that are there, basically. I think at a grassroots level, the climate crisis is already changing. Who participates in sport, where it can be played, and as well, who bears the costs of that as well. So we often think about, you know, we're all very selfish little souls, aren't we? But we often think about ourselves. And if you happen to be a reasonably healthy, able-bodied person, you are like, oh yeah, the heat waves, that's annoying. Gosh, I must get out of my run earlier. Young people and old people, very, very affected because their physiology is not set up to deal with the extreme heat. It doesn't moderate. People with underlying health conditions, not set up to deal with extreme heat. People, for example, who need wheelchairs, for example, their bodies don't adapt to heat. People with um ailments like ME and others, all of these health conditions are much more exacerbated, or the body is unable to cope in these extreme temperatures. So what we end up with at a grassroot level is it's not just about sport actually taking place. It might actually take place for some people, but there's others who usually would be able to participate who now can't because of their particular circumstance. So it brings in an equity question. Um, then where it's played, we mentioned there rugby, football, cricket, whatever, um, those sports, over the winter, the number that were cancelled is increasing every year. We've seen a lot of community-based organizations like can we even carry on? Because as soon as, you know, stipends aren't taken because the matches aren't happening, people are running on really, really thin margins to keep community sport going. It's mainly volunteer-led, and it's mainly based on goodwill and the kindness of volunteers and people giving their valuable time up to help young people or park and volunteers, you know, the maze and you see them every week. Like they turn up and volunteer and stand, and maybe they've got their own corner in our local park. There's a lady and she's got her at the corner named after herself. She always stands there and volunteers and directs people. Like these people are incredible. Um, so when things are cancelled, people make other plans and then do they go back to it? So there's who participates, where it's made, and then the costs as well, Phil. So they kind of for a lot of small community clubs, if infrastructure is damaged more than once and insurance levies go up or it becomes uninsurable, then that's the end of that because there isn't, they're not large corporate organizations who can just oh pull a bit of funding from somewhere else. They don't have that money. So they are the first to feel the impact and they feel that the impact's the largest as well. Um, the equity side I think is a really important one for us to consider. So I mentioned there a little bit, but also we're seeing in other parts of the world, like um snow sports, for example, or ice hockey in the US, what's happening is natural environments where people can participate, train, hone their craft are disappearing. So ice rinks aren't freezing as much or for as long, snow cover is disappearing more quickly, and or it's not appearing later. And what that means is only those who can afford to pay to train indoors then get access to that. So you've got a lot of costs around equipment and materials, but the landscape in which you train has historically been free. A local rink or your local mountain range, whatever that you can get access to as the climate crisis worsens and those landscapes disappear, then you've got only the people who can afford it who are going to get access to it. So, yes, to your question around are we at risk of losing access to sport? We are, it's already happening. Um, and then in terms of how sport adapts and becomes a positive local force, there's heaps of ways in which that's happening. I think, you know, there's funds available now to invest in climate-resilient facilities, things like improvement drainage, drought, drought tolerant playing services, shading for spectator areas, these sorts of adaptations. You know, look at the funds that are available for you. There is actually funds around that people are like don't know about, and we talk to a lot um UK government, you know, things like LED lighting or um shade cover and that kind of thing. There are funds available, so look at that. Um adjusting competition schedules, so looking at holding activities in different parts of the day or shifting seasons, sharing community facilities to maximise access and reduce environmental impacts. So the sort of crossover, as opposed to all having different pictures and facilities, like how can we share them more? That's an adaptation for a positive local um force where there's funding available, install renewable energy, rainwater harvesting, energy efficient lighting. So try and lower those operational costs to build up a little, a little fun. So if stuff does happen, you've got that, encouraging active travel, obviously. Um a lot of, especially young people I chat to or or parents, they drive their kids to training every week, and every parent is turning up separately in a car with one child in it. You know, how can we just simple things like is there a can you all have a WhatsApp group and carpool to just reduce those emissions, encourage active travel and save money as well, honestly? Like if you can do a rotation, brilliant. Um, and then also the biggest thing I think is that grassroots sport can do in terms of providing a positive local force is um for the coaches, the the pillars of the community, the coaches, the volunteers, and the people involved to be aware of all of this and talk to people about it, so that when comms go out, like your your kids' school sports day, was that just like there's an extreme heat wave, we're gonna postpone, or could they have added, or did they add an extra line and saying there's it, there's another heat wave, the climate crisis is worsening, we're expecting to see this more. This is the it's that it's the changing the narrative as well, going from just like oh weather, to this is the climate crisis and it's gonna get worse. So we need to probably get together and think about that. So I think as much as there's a lot of operational changes, which are critical, actually, one of the biggest things we can do is talk about it and associate the shifts that we're seeing with the climate crisis through sporting.

SPEAKER_01 30:43

Yeah, I love that. That's brilliant. Um look, the the time is starting to sort of slip away from us, but before before we sort of come to a close, I want to mention some of the work that we've been doing over the years um in this space. We I know I know in the past JBA has done work with football clubs who have relocated because their grounds have been at increased risk of flooding. Um and and and I know recently we've done some we've had some engagement work with Bradford City uh football club and their Greener Bantams Initiative. And I don't know if you're aware of this, Claire. Uh we've done some work um exploring how sustainability and climate resilience can be embedded into their sort of matchday experiences. And I and I know Bradford have got a trees for goals program, and this is where they plant a native tree for every goal scored by either their men's or their ladies' teams. And I think these sorts of initiatives are really good at showing how clubs have got that community influence and that potential outside of a stadium, you know, to build awareness in the community and improve sustainability. Um, so yeah, look, I mean, Claire, we could, as you said at the top, we could go on for hours on this. Um, any any final thoughts or comments from you that you'd like to close on?

SPEAKER_00 31:58

Yeah, thank you, Phil. Yeah, I mean, there's there's so much around this, and I think just to bring it back to the core message, if we invest in resilient sport, we aren't just protecting the game that we love or that particular sport, we are actually protecting health. If you're if it's a participant sport, we are support, we're protecting connection, community connection and social engagement, and we are protecting and and supporting resilience for our entire community. So whilst we are, you know, people think about this in terms of their own perhaps sports organization or their own community club, I think an important point to end on is that this investment in resilience is not just about that club. The the ripple of sport in our communities, no matter how big or small the organization is, across health, connection, and resilience are massive in terms of community. So that is the big thing to remember as well. Invest in resilient sport, and you're protecting so much more than the game that you love.

SPEAKER_01 33:02

What a place to finish on it's that whole system, it's that ripple effect. Um, so as the World Cup continues around us, it's worth remembering then that there is this other story playing out alongside. And it isn't just about elite tournaments, but about the future of sport itself. Because, as we've heard, climate change is already shaping how and indeed whether we play. Sport has a unique power to help drive the solution, to connect people, to tell the story, and potentially to lead us towards a shift towards climate resilience. Because as Claire has just uh very articulately finished with, if we can protect the games we love, we can potentially protect a lot more as well. If you've enjoyed this conversation with Claire, then check out her podcast, The Climate of Sports. Claire, it's been a wonderful uh conversation this afternoon. Thanks for coming on the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 33:55

It's a pleasure. Thanks for having me, Phil.

SPEAKER_01 34:00

So we've reached the end of our time today. If you've enjoyed listening, please hit the subscribe button so you're ready for our next episode in a month's time. And if you'd like to support the show, consider sharing it with others or leaving us a short review wherever you're listening. It really helps more people to discover and enjoy the podcast. Thanks for joining us. I'm Phil Emonson, and you've been listening to the Climate Resilience Podcast brought to you by JBA Consulting.

SPEAKER_00 34:29

So that is the big thing to remember as well. Invest in Resilience Sport, and you're protecting so much more than the game that you love.