Assessing sport’s climate movement ahead of COP26

A number of key actors are playing a starring role in accelerating sport’s focus on sustainability and climate issues.

But, in terms of being at the forefront for a sustained number of years, very few can match the achievements or commitment of Lew Blaustein.

After launching Green Sports Blog almost a decade ago, and shaping it into a must-read publication for anyone interested in sport and the environment, Blaustein now is driving athlete activism and engagement through his recently-established nonprofit, EcoAthletes.

In this special edition of the podcast, ahead of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November, Blaustein and I forgo the usual podcast structure and instead kick back and chat about the changes we’ve seen the sustainability and sport movement over the last few years – especially post-Covid – and some of the key issues.

Among other things, we discuss:

• Sport’s role at COP26 – and how it should be taken more seriously by policy-makers
• The critical role of mainstream media outlets in normalising sport’s climate movement for fans
• What we would do if we were commissioner for a day