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Arsenal became the very first Premier League club to sign the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework; an initiative that is designed to help tackle climate change whilst bringing the world’s sport community in line with the Paris Agreement goals.
The London-based club signed the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework, which aims to align the world’s sport community with the goals of the Paris Agreement as well as support the ambition to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
Arsenal operations director Hywel Sloman was quoted saying “Arsenal is committed to leading the way on sustainability among Premier League clubs and we are proud to be the first club to sign up to the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework”.
“Together with our partners, we’ve already implemented a number of environmentally friendly practices across the club.
“We will continue to use the power and reach of Arsenal to inspire our global communities and push each other towards a more sustainable future.”
This initiative aims to achieve its goals by committing to 5 principles, namely;
- Undertaking system-wide efforts to promote increased environmental responsibility
- Lowering overall climate impact
- Climate action education
- Promoting responsible and sustainable consumption
- Advocating for climate action using communication
The Sports for Climate Action Lead at UN Climate Change, Lindita Xhaferi-Salihu stated “Football inspires so many of us around the world and there is a remarkable potential for the game to become greener, more climate-resilient and lead by example for millions of global fans.
“We are delighted to welcome Arsenal as the first Premier League club to the UN Sports for Climate Action community as we raise awareness of climate change and use this opportunity to make a difference together.”
The club follows its defender Hector Bellerin’s lead as he has previously made his own personal attempts to tackle climate change.
The Spanish full-back stated back in June that he would pay for 3,000 trees to be planted for every game Arsenal won during the remainder of the 2019-20 Premier League season. Concurrently, he invested in League Two side Forest Green Rovers in order to help develop the club’s environmental and ethical innovations.
Arsenal recorded 7 victories which were enough for 21,000 trees to be planted, however, donations from supporters saw that figure rise to 58,617.
Bellerin, who teamed up with the charity One Tree Planted for the project, made the decision to plant the trees in central Brazil’s Rio Araguaia.
In September, Bellerin became a shareholder and explained why he had joined the club’s ‘green revolution’.
He told the club’s website: “I was really excited when I first discovered the opportunity to get involved at Forest Green Rovers – and the brilliant work the club is already doing. It’s important that I invest in things I am passionate about – and I’m excited to help push football into having a sustainable future.”
“Forest Green Rovers prove to clubs who say ‘they don’t have resources to be sustainable’ – that it is possible. With the new stadium, being carbon neutral and vegan, the club is doing some mind-blowing work. People have a universal love of football, so there’s no better industry to promote sustainability – and what we can do as football supporters to be more environmentally conscious.”
As reported by Sky Sports
