7th World Conference on Sport and the Environment - International ...

Report
4.13. Closing ceremony
4.13.1. Closing speech by Mr Jingmin Liu
Jointly organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the United Nations Environment Program
(UNEP) and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), the
Seventh <strong>World</strong> <strong>Conference</strong> on Sport and the Environment has accomplished its agenda and is going to
be closed today. On behalf of the BOCOG, I would like to express my congratulations on the successful
conference and sincere gratitude to all the participants.
The <strong>World</strong> <strong>Conference</strong> on Sport and the Environment held in China for the first time has drawn a lot of
attention from both home and abroad. The conference was well attended by more than 400 participants
from the IOC, UNEP, related International Sports Federations (IFs), Organizing Committees of Turin,
London and Vancouver, the <strong>World</strong> Health Organization (WHO), the <strong>World</strong> Bank, enterprise sponsors for
Olympic Games, and experts and scholars in the international environment protection cycle, as well as
from BOCOG and related government organs of China. The three-day event conducted three plenary
meetings and eight forums, where the related topics were enthusiastically and productively discussed.
The IOC President Mr. Jacques Rogge attended and addressed the opening ceremony cordially. This
conference has fully demonstrated the great importance attached by the IOC and the international society
to environment protection, and reflected the key position of environment protection in the evolvement of
the Olympic Movement.
The BOCOG President Mr. Liu Qi pointed out in his speech at the opening ceremony that the Chinese
government had attached great importance to environment protection and sustainable development
which served as a solid guarantee for implementing “Green Olympics”. He said that supported by
governmental departments at various levels, the Beijing Municipality and BOCOG was vigorously
implementing “Green Olympics”, and he also briefed us on the efforts and achievements made in respect
of the construction of Olympic environment and city environment as well as the tasks of further protecting
the city’s ecological environment and the Olympic environment. He promised that Beijing would
energetically carry out the 11th Five-year Plan for Environment Protection and Ecological Construction,
and improve the city’s ecological environment on a full scale; would promote environment protection to
create a good ecological environment for the Olympic Games; would seize the opportunity of preparing
for the Olympic Games to facilitate the combination of sport and environment protection and promote
the harmonious social and economic development. He wished to intensify cooperation with you and link
sport and environment protection more closely to make a new contribution to the full development of
human beings and the harmony between man and nature.
The conference achieved great success with the joint efforts made by all the parties attending the
conference. Closely around the central theme of environment protection, the participants focused on
the relationship of sports, environment and sustainable development, and further clarified the common
responsibility on our shoulders. In the plenary meetings and forums, the participants thoroughly
discussed topics such as “environmentally sustainable development in Olympic Games”, “Olympic
Games and the environmental responsibility of enterprises” and “athletes in the sports as well as the
environment protection”, etc. The IOC, the related IFs, enterprise sponsors and athletes gave unique
insights, successful experiences and precious suggestions on the environmental legacy and the targets,
projects and practice of environment protection in the sport games from their respective fields, which not
only further enriched the connotation of sports, the environment and sustainable development, but also
provided useful guidance for the organizers to implement the “Green Olympic” concept.
In the past few days, the participants paid visits to the construction sites of Olympic venues in Beijing,
reviewed the environmental facilities for the venues and debriefed the report on environment protection
by Beijing municipal government and BOCOG. UNEP released its independent evaluation report on the
environment protection of the Beijing Olympic Games, which acknowledged the environmental efforts
made by BOCOG and pointed out the actions to be improved as well. We have paid full attention to the
evaluation report, and will study it further and make improvements accordingly.
We passed the Beijing Communiqué on Sport and the Environment with joint efforts made by all the
parties attending the conference. The Beijing Communiqué sets the basic principles for us in terms of
bringing the role and impact of sports into full play, reinforcing the publicity of environment protection,
improving the awareness of environment protection, defining the plan of environment protection and
taking the responsibility for environment protection. The Beijing Communiqué further clarifies the criteria
of the sustainable development of Olympic Movement on the design and construction of venues,
<strong>7th</strong> <strong>World</strong> <strong>Conference</strong> on Sport and the Environment
International Cooperation and Development Dept.
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