MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – Denmark midfielder Sofie Junge Pedersen has spearheaded a campaign involving 44 World Cup-bound players to mitigate the environmental impact of flights to Australia and New Zealand for the upcoming tournament.
“I want to ensure my World Cup experience has a positive environmental legacy,” Junge Pedersen said in a release. “Climate change is the biggest issue humanity faces, and I want to be part of the solution.
“While there are no current sustainable solutions to aviation, as players we are setting an example, and taking a tangible step in the right direction.”
Canadian midfielder Jessie Fleming, who scored in the final at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and Italy defender Elena Linari helped the campaign expand globally, with players from four countries participating in a combination of climate resilience and carbon offsetting and adaptation initiatives.
“This is a topic I feel passionate about, and I hope this action my team mates and I are taking accelerates the climate conversation and sets a precedent for what athletes can do to push for more environmental policies in football,” Fleming said.
A key policy objective of the campaign is to make carbon a key criterion in the bidding process for future tournaments.
The campaign in partnership with Football For Future (FFF) and Common Goal – the largest player-led climate action in soccer history, according to FFF – relies on methodology to calculate the environmental impact of flights.
The players donate to a combination of carbon offsetting initiatives run by the World Wildlife Fund and Danish NGO DanChurchAid.
“The fact that this is a player-led initiative is inspiring,” Linari said. “Like all players, I’m focused on doing the best I can at the World Cup, but I also want to acknowledge that football has an impact on the planet, and most importantly, do something concrete about it.”
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
