As COP28 gets underway, SailGP's chief purpose officer Fiona Morgan reflects on how the league is showcasing the power of sport in the climate conversation.
Now is the time for action. We need hope and collaboration but most of all we need ACTION.
We Race For The Future here at SailGP. For the next generation. For our racetrack ‒ the ocean. But everyone, everywhere needs to race for a better future, and act differently.
As world leaders gather at COP28, a milestone global climate change conference in Dubai, it is a first-ever chance to take stock of where the world stands on climate action and how we can all work together to chart a better course forward to accelerate climate action.
I have to admit I feel a little anxious about the task at hand and the politics at play but I still have high hopes and ambition for what can be achieved.
The world stands at a pivotal juncture for energy transition. The urgency is clear ‒ rising temperatures, extreme weather events and a widening emissions gap.
The way I’m thinking about it is the world needs a HALF-TIME TALK. We’re eight years on from the world’s leaders agreeing to 17 global goals to build a greener, fairer, better world by 2030.
It’s half-time and we’re losing, as only 15% of those global goals are on track to be delivered ‒ barely even three. In sport terms, you could say we’re losing 12-3. The odds are against us.
So it’s time for a COMEBACK and what better dressing room to do it in than COP28.
So my hope lies in bold commitments to phase out fossil fuels, amplify renewables and enhance energy efficiency. It's a call for a future and for collaboration across sectors.
At SailGP we have a unique opportunity to be racing in Dubai during COP28. We’ve decided to showcase the power of sport in the climate conversation and push our sport to operate more sustainably than ever by launching our first ever Race For The Future takeover.
The takeover is focusing on four key areas; Clean energy. Innovation. Inclusion and Impact.
We’re already redefining performance with the world’s first Impact League. We’re embedding sustainable action into sport with a second podium for the planet.
That's what the world needs to do. Embed and realize that sustainability must be at the heart of everything we do. The planet is on the line.
So at half-time, and at COP28, SailGP wants to show that if you think differently, impossible is just a mindset, and that there is hope.
Nobody is perfect and nobody knows all the answers. The beauty of COP28 is that climate action is showcased to the world and communicated. It’s about people coming together for the right reasons to learn and collaborate.
I’ll be sharing my COP28 journey over the next few weeks and would love to hear what is giving everyone else hope and optimism, with a desire that we can collaborate, so do get in touch.
We’re all in a Race For The Future and we need to act now. There is no planet B.
