Speaking at a symposium on sport and sustainable development hosted by the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education on June 8, David Miller expressed optimism in the battle against climate change, despite the U.S. recently pulling out of the Paris Agreement.
The president and CEO of WWF-Canada and former mayor of Toronto said it would be foolish to say the world is better off without the U.S. being an active participant. “But, in a funny way, it doesn’t matter as much as it might have two or three years ago, or when George Bush refused to sign the Kyoto Agreement, because of the huge groundswelling of leadership elsewhere,” he said.
“When Bush decided not to sign the Kyoto Agreement, the mayors across the U.S. signed on to it anyway and the same thing is happening now, but the difference today is that there is significant leadership from businesses, as well.”
This fits in with the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, a mechanism that came out of the Paris Agreement, which gives each country the option to decide how they are going to contribute to the long-term goals of the agreement. But, it doesn’t have to be just countries, according to Miller. Other institutions, universities and business can contribute, too.
“The idea is, we all have a role to play and if we decide to make a contribution, we can," he said.
Miller praised businesses such as Loblaw’s, Hewitt Packard, and Proctor and Gamble for having climate strategy goals and targets, “partly because they believe in these values, partly because it’s the right thing to do and partly because they are saving money by becoming more efficient. They are part of the solution,” he said.
Exploring ways in which sport can become part of the solution for climate change specifically and sustainable development in general was the central focus of the U of T symposium, organized by KPE Assistant Professor Simon Darnell and post-doctoral student Rob Millington, with support from the Centre for Sport Policy Studies.
“There is an increasing momentum around seeing sport making a positive contribution to sustainable development, instead of being a net drain on the environment,” said Darnell, referring to the environmental impact of mega sports events like the Olympic Games or the World Cup.
“From a scholarly perspective, we recognize that there’s a gap in the field, because we have these separate research fields of international development, environmentalism and sport, but nobody has ever taken the time or the opportunity to try and connect them, and that’s what we’re trying to do – to think about the overlap between those three fields.”
Darnell admits one symposium may not be enough to result in strong policy recommendations, but he is excited about the ideas that have emerged for policy makers to think about, from the role of sport within Indigenous communities to the relationship between sport and the natural environment.
The end goal? A critical mass of scholars setting a research policy and practice agenda, with sport playing an integral role.
It's this convergence of scholars and concerned citizens across different disciplines and time zones that gives Miller the most cause for optimism.
"When you see business leaders saying we’re doing it and cities around the world saying we’re doing it and we’re doing it in a way that that is inclusive and more democratic and creates economically and socially more inclusive societies, the momentum is unstoppable, with or without the U.S.,” he said.
*This event was proudly sponsored by Koru Distribution.