Madeleine Orr, an assistant professor at the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, weighed in on F1's pledge to reach net zero by 2030 for Japan Times.
... Greenhouse gases generated by F1 are not only an issue for a planet that just experienced its hottest summer on record. They’re also a problem for the sport’s image and could affect where and when it can hold races in the future, with knock-on financial implications.
“The economic impact is a harder one for people to wrap their heads around,” says Madeleine Orr, a professor at the University of Toronto who specializes in sports management and environmental policy.
“I would say that it's being felt a little faster on operations and health and performance,” she adds, noting sporting events were canceled in North America this summer due to wildfire smoke. (F1’s race in Montreal in June went ahead as scheduled, though it’s not hard to imagine a scenario where it could have been affected as wildfires raged in eastern Canada.)
“I think ... the sports world is waking up to what the consequences could be if this (doesn’t) get curtailed,” Orr says.