In an ambitious bid to connect sports to climate and air quality in Africa, the government of Senegal through the Ministry of Environment, Athletics Senegal, Athletics Kenya, and the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) together with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Regional Office for Africa, and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Africa recently organised a presentation on the topic of environment and sports and the connection of sports to air quality and climate action in Africa.

This presentation was made on the sidelines of the 18th Ordinary Session of the African Ministerial Conference on Environment (AMCEN-18) hosted by the Government of Senegal at the King Fahd Palace Hotel in Dakar, Senegal under the theme: “Securing people’s well-being and ensuring environmental sustainability in Africa.”

“The practice of sports is important for health and wellbeing and it is therefore essential that this is done in a safe environment,” Cheikh Fofana, Deputy Director of the Environment and Classified Establishments at the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Senegal said.

The focus on sports and athletics is part of the climate and clean air initiatives being promoted for sports and fits well with the plan by Senegal to position itself in the coming years as a key player in the development of sport in Africa, and more specifically to contribute towards the preparations to host the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, the first Olympic event in the history of the African continent.

Good environment

“Sports need a good environment to function well, be played and enjoyed but also activities around sports also impact the environment,” Frank Turyatunga, Director and Regional Representative of UNEP Africa Office said.

“The United Nations established the UN Office for Sports for Development and Peace in 2001 and 2005 as its international year of sports and physical education. But even before that in 1995, the International Olympic Committee together with the United Nations Environment Programme hosted a World Conference on sports and environment and the IOC president then (Juan Antonio) Samaranch remarked that the International Olympics Committee had resolved to ensure that the environment becomes the third dimension of the organisations of the Olympics games.”

Air pollution is associated with over a million premature deaths per year in Africa, which occur due to people being exposed to harmful pollutants both indoors and outdoors. At the same time, according to the IPCC 6th Assessment Report, Africa remains amongst the world’s most vulnerable regions to climate change. Thus, the continent faces a double burden of worsening air quality, and climate vulnerability, which needs to be addressed together.

The Report on Integrated Assessment of Air Pollution and Climate Change for Sustainable Development in Africa prepared by the AUC, UNEP-ROA, CCAC and SEI has identified 37 measures which if implemented provide a tailored package of solutions for achieving clean air while also enabling African countries to meet climate obligations contained in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.

“We have provided data for all the African countries on air quality and climate as part of the Integrated Assessment of Air Pollution and Climate Change for Sustainable Development in Africa report and we provide to African governments and all stakeholders measures on five key areas where if they take action, Africa will be able to achieve objectives of the Africa Union Agenda 2063,” Philip Osano, centre director at SEI Africa said.

“The African Union has suggested that they will develop an Africa Clean Air Programme and the vision we have is that just as we have done at the Abdullahi Wade stadium, at all African stadia and sports facilities we can be able to put up sensors that can allow us to the quality of air for athletes and sportspeople to do their activities in a clean environment.”

During the press conference speakers presented on the status of air quality and climate change in Senegal and the implications for sports while giving an update on the celebrations to mark the third International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies which took place on 7 September 2022 under the theme of “The Air We Share”. The meeting was also updated on the installation of an

Air Quality sensor and tree planting activities involving dignitaries, athletes, youth and children at the Diamniadio stadium, in Dakar, Senegal. The event focused on the transboundary nature of air pollution and stressed the need for collective accountability and action while calling for immediate and strategic international and regional cooperation for more efficient implementation of mitigation policies and actions to tackle air pollution.

Speakers spelt out the measures carried out by sports organizations and federations to address the air quality and climate action giving examples from Kenya and Senegal and calling for wider action across Africa. The meeting also heard from leading athletes and sportspersons from Senegal and Kenya about their experiences on the implications of climate and air pollution on sports, and the role of athletes in raising awareness about these challenges.

“Athletes need a good environment and clean air to train optimally and to enable them to give good performances in competitions,” said William Tanui, gold medalist at the 800m, 1992 Summer Olympics.

His Senegalese counterpart, 1988 Olympic 400m hurdles silver medalist Amadou Dia Ba, who serves as director of the African Athletics Development Centre, said he was excited and ready to work with Athletics Kenya on climate action.

“Sport is one of the good ways to communicate environment protection and climate change,” Lamine Faty, Director General of Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) said.

“Air quality is important for athletes, and we will continue with the momentum that has already been set. More awareness activities will be organised with the expert knowledge of Athletics Kenya and partners SEI and UNEP”

Given the strong connection between sports and the environment, including the impact of sports on environment, the impact of the environment on sports, and the relationship between the two, sports teams, organizations, federations and networks are taking measures to respond to and mitigate sports impact on air quality and climate change. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) which brings together several sports disciplines developed a Manual On Sport And The Environment in 2005 which seeks to guide measures and actions for sports events to minimize negative impacts on the environment.

Install air quality sensors

“Through our joint partnership with UNEP and Stockholm Environment Institute, we have managed to install air quality sensors in our two main stadiums in Nairobi and at the Nairobi National Park and now rolling out to other cities in Kenya,” Athletics Kenya President, Lieutenant General (Rtd) Jackson Tuwei said.

“It is fulfilling to note that now Dakar is on the map of African cities with Air quality sensors. These are going to ensure that we know the air quality of the venues where our athletes perform with data being available to help City authorities and venues management take appropriate action around air pollution and waste management. It may be difficult in future for any city or country without air quality sensors to host any major international competitions.”

General Tuwei noted that Athletics Kenya together with SEI have completed the first annual reporting to UNFCCC on Sports for Climate Action and the technical work on the federation’s carbon footprint as we move forward in working to deliver on the UNFCCC commitments. He added that the two organizations will seek to work with the Confederation of African Athletics and partners, UNEP and SEI to enhance and scale up the training to other federations on Sports for Climate Action.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) launched the Sports for Climate Action Framework in Katowice, Poland in 2018 to encourage sports organizations to take collective action to limit global warming to a 1.5C degrees rise, the levels agreed in Paris during the 2015 Climate Change Conference. UNFCC also seeks to work with sports organizations to reduce their carbon emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.

The Framework has two overarching objectives: to achieve a clear trajectory for the global sports community to combat climate change through commitments and partnerships in congress with verified standards; to use sports as a unifying tool to drive climate awareness and action among global citizens.

It is notable that Athletics Kenya (AK) became the first out of the 214 World Athletics member federations globally to join World Athletics as a signatory to the Sports for Climate Action Framework, setting it on a global leadership role among World Athletics member federations.