UNFCCC

WFDF and IFA join UNFCCC’s Sports for Climate Action and sign Framework

In News, News, Official Communication, Press Release * Official Communication by WFDF

The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) is proud to announce that it has joined the UNFCCC’s Sports for Climate Action initiative as a signatory to the Sports for Climate Action Framework. The Sports for Climate Action initiative calls on sporting organizations to acknowledge the contribution of the sports sector to climate change and our responsibility to strive towards climate neutrality for a safer planet. WFDF also reaffirms its cooperation agreement in the area of sustainability with the International Fistball Association (IFA) signed in 2017.

In line with the five core principles enshrined in the Framework and the aims of the Paris Agreement, our organization will strive to:

1)     promote greater environmental responsibility;

2)     reduce the overall climate impact from sports;

3)     use our platform to educate for climate action;

4)     promote sustainable and responsible consumption; and

5)     advocate for climate action through our communications.

The UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Patricia Espinosa, explained that sports organizations and athletes are in a unique position in the fight against climate change “because sports touches on every cross-section of society. “Through collective action, all International Federations have the power to contribute tremendously to fight negative climate change. WFDF has been working towards sustainability goals for several years and has, for example, required Tournament Organising Committees (TOCs) to include environmental aspects of responsibility at our WFDF sanctioned events,” commented WFDF President Robert “Nob” Rauch.

“By signing the Framework now as follow-up of our joint cooperation with our friends at IFA, we demonstrate our commitment to do our part to ensure that the Sport follows a path to a low-carbon future. As a consequence we hope our statement will inspire the Flying Disc community, all National Federations, athletes and players and fans worldwide to raise their climate ambition in a united effort to limit global warming.”

Added Jörn Verleger, IFA President: “This is a fight we can and must win by all means to avoid significantly negative effects on the world climate and threatening the future of the next generations by the increased risk of droughts, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people. We are extremely pleased to see this as a further step together with WFDF as a consequence of our Memonandum of Understanding which we signed at the 2017 SportAccord IF Forum on Sustainability in Sport for a joint WFDF and IFA Sustainability Strategy.“

Both WFDF and the IFA are committed to incorporate the five principles into our strategies, policies and procedures, and mainstream them within the sports community. We call upon all members of the global sport family to sign up to the Sports for Climate Action principles, regardless of their current stage in their environmental endeavors and work collaboratively to identify and spotlight climate solutions.

The IOC case study on Sustainability prepared by WFDF and IFA can be found here.