Roneil Walcott
As he joined in on the call for safer environments for athletes and spectators and a reduction in the carbon footprint of sporting events, former Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) president Brian Lewis labelled Fifa and the Olympic Games as the “biggest destroyers” of the environment.
Lewis made the claim when he brought the TTOC’s ninth Sport Industry TT Conference to an end at the Hilton Trinidad in PoS on March 7.
Titled The Environmental Impact of Sport, the conference focused on the impact of climate change on sporting activities in TT and the international circuit and also saw participants raise ideas and solutions that could mitigate against doing harm to the environment.
With informative panel discussions which were centred on the themes such as green initiatives and eco-friendly practices in sports events, Lewis did not hold back in his remarks as he scolded two of the world’s more recognised sporting entities.
“One of the takeaways I want you to remember is that sport and the Olympic Games and Fifa, in particular, are the biggest destroyers of the environment. They can spin it all they want and put all the fancy words like carbon neutral,” Lewis said.
“The fact is, these events have a dramatic carbon footprint and are devastating to the biodiversity. The Olympic Games involves … the building of facilities at the expense of challenged communities.”
Lewis said those within the sporting community have the opportunity and seats to effect change – whether it be from an on-field perspective or from the administrative side.
He said the TTOC has started a pertinent discussion that must be continued and activated by the sport stakeholders who value the social and economic impacts of climate change in the sporting arena.
“We have to appreciate that all of us who are involved in sport and those who make big decisions, we are in fact compromising. We are making a conscious decision that we in sport can manage the risk to our environment. Is that sustainable?
“It is very important that the National Sporting Organisations (NSOs), many of whom aren’t here, take it on board. A topic on the environmental impact of their sport, your sport and our sport should be taken seriously.”
While Lewis turned his attention to the ramifications of the construction of massive stadia for major global events, Environmental Commission of TT chairman Sunil Sookraj said the preservation of the environment is a responsibility that should be practised by citizens on a daily basis.
“The greatest impact to climate and the environment is man,” Sookraj said, during the first panel discussion. “We need to make the difference. We should not wait on others to make the change. We have to take steps to implement measures. We need to do it now.”
Sookraj challenged the local sporting community to take the lead in being advocates for a greener TT, and he suggested provisions for the protection of the environment in the constitution.
National Basketball Federation TT (NBFTT) president Jason Hills supported Sookraj’s calls.
Hills, a Lieutenant Colonel with the Defence Force, pointed to “significant changes in temperature and the weather” over time, and he said it was paramount to create safer environments for athletes to perform at their peak levels.
“As you would have seen at the Qatar World Cup (in 2022), and other international sport games, there is a purposeful push for the rehydration of the athletes,” Hills said, during the second panel discussion.
“(We need) to use the athletes to share that knowledge on what we want to create and what the environment is so they could now bring individual support from the crowd.
“When we talk about a safe environment, we are talking about the health and safety of the athletes and the health and safety of the fans which is another significant aspect.”
During the conference, Raquel Moses, global ambassador for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said TT is the highest contributor of emissions through sport in the Caribbean, and she spoke on the importance of raising awareness to the effects of climate change to inspire a change in behaviour as well.
Last August, Planning and Development Minister Pennelope Beckles announced TT’s aims to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions from the PowerGen industrial and transportation sector by 15 per cent by 2030.
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