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

Report
4.1.7. Opening Speech by the IOC President, Mr Jacques Rogge
Climate change has become one of the most important issues of the 21st century. This was rightly
recognised this month by the Nobel Peace Prize Committee. Global warming has reached every part
of the planet with clear signs and effects such as water and food shortages, growing desertification,
devastating hurricanes and heat waves with fires. Global warming has so far had a very short history, but
will have a very long future.
The IOC and the environment
The International Olympic Committee recognised the importance of the environment and its potential
effects on the world rather early. It was in this spirit that the IOC, which was represented at the
Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, signed a cooperation agreement with the United Nations Environment
Programme. The Lillehammer Games in 1994 were considered as a high-quality example of respecting
the environment and called the “Green Games”. One year later, the IOC decided to create a Sport and
Environment Commission and held its first <strong>World</strong> Sport and Environment <strong>Conference</strong> in Lausanne. The
adoption of the Olympic Movement Agenda 21 by the IOC Session in 1999 was another step to reinforce
our role in this field.
And when the IOC received the UNEP Champion of the Earth 2007 award – together with Nobel Peace
Prize Winner Al Gore – it was as much recognition for the work that had already been done – particularly
by the Sport and Environment Commission chaired by Pál Schmitt – as a call for further action.
What is our responsibility?
The IOC feels a strong responsibility to actively promote a healthy environment and to set good
standards. This effort is driven by three major concerns.
The first is our overall social responsibility. Sport does not live in splendid isolation, but is part of our
society and has to play an active role in several fields. For this reason we consider the protection of the
environment as the third pillar of the Olympic Movement.
The second reason is the impact that a damaged environment can have on sport, the Olympic Games
and, most importantly, the athletes. Be it the elite athletes participating in the Olympic Games or grassroots
athletes in millions of sport clubs over the world – they need clean and healthy conditions in which
to train and compete. We are all too aware that the fragile condition of the environment could therefore
pose a direct threat to the future of sport. Global warming will jeopardise sport in the long term, and, for
example, the very existence of winter sports in many areas of the world.
The third issue is our effort to promote sustainability in the preparation of the Olympic Games. The last
Olympic Games in Turin – Torino 2006 – proved to be an excellent example of a sustainable sports event.
One major contributor to this distinction was the Heritage Climate Torino (HECTOR) initiative, which
aimed to not only raise awareness of climate change issues, but also offset the estimated 100,000+
tonnes of greenhouse gases produced during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Turin Organising
Committee (TOROC) achieved a number of other notable environmental successes through its efforts
to minimise waste, conserve fresh water, incorporate eco-friendly building designs, apply pollution-free
materials in venue construction, recycle materials in the Olympic Village, establish a sustainable and
clean-fuel transport plan, and utilise passive solar heating.
We know that Beijing 2008 has to tackle important environmental issues. These problems are linked
to the impressive economic development in China. The Olympic Games have brought some of these
problems to the surface, and encouraged the authorities to tackle them faster and more effectively as the
City wants to present the best conditions to the world’s best athletes. Among the most notable initiatives
are efforts to close down polluting factories in the city, eliminate 300,000 motor vehicles with high
emissions, transform coal-burning furnaces to natural gas in the downtown area, forestation projects, and
the control of dust particles from construction sites. These efforts are part of an ambitious programme
aimed at significantly increasing the number of “blue-sky” days in Beijing by 2008. Directly linked to
the Games is the construction of the venues according to high environmental standards or, as another
example, the Olympic Village, which will use 6,000 square meters of solar heat collectors.
<strong>7th</strong> <strong>World</strong> <strong>Conference</strong> on Sport and the Environment
International Cooperation and Development Dept.
Page 32/256