Athletes call for climate adaptation fightback ahead of COP30

LONDON: Climate change is one of the toughest opponents facing any athlete, warns Brazilian soccer player Tamires Dias, one of around 40 elite sportsmen and women involved in the launch of a new global campaign that will feature at next month’s COP30 summit in her country.

Dias, who played in two Women’s World Cups, has been joined by the likes of Brazilian tennis player Beatriz Haddad Maia, surfer Maya Gabeira, Romanian Olympic swimmer David Popovici and former England soccer player Raheem Sterling to support Adapt2Win.

With climate change already impacting elite sport, the global multimedia campaign launched on Monday and backed by the Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust, is urging governments to prioritise investment in climate adaptation ahead of COP30.

Dias, 38, describes the challenges of playing soccer in Brazil, where extreme heat and damaging rains pose challenges, and says adapting to climate change is no longer optional.

“In sport, we learn to adapt every day — to new teams, new tactics, new opponents. But climate change is a different kind of opponent. It’s stronger, more unpredictable, and no one can face it alone,” she said.

Forty athletes have signed an Open Letter while a hard-hitting film showing the dramatic impact of floods and fires on sports venues will be aired at COP30 in Belem next month.

The film starts with a caption stating ‘this can either be the worst defeat in history or the greatest comeback of all time.’

According to campaign organisers, climate-related disasters caused $417 billion in economic losses in 2024, yet less than 10% of global climate finance is directed toward adaptation.

“For me, this is personal,” said Sterling, who was born in Jamaica but has played 82 times for England. “I’ve seen how climate change is reshaping life across the Caribbean.

“Through my foundation’s work on mosquito-borne disease prevention, I’ve seen how simple, community-led solutions can make a huge difference. COP30 is the moment for leaders to back those solutions.”

The campaign also highlights grassroots efforts already underway, such as SMS drought alerts in Kenya and heat-resilient maternal healthcare in Sierra Leone.

“Adapt2Win reminds us that every sector, from governments to business to sports, has a role to play in creating change,” Ana Toni, CEO of the COP30 Presidency, said.

Other signatories include South Africa rugby player Bongi Mbonambi, Nigeria soccer player Kenneth Omeruo and American two-time world champion sailor Mike Buckley.

“Growing up in Nigeria, you could always count on the seasons — when the rains would come, when the fields would turn green. But in recent years, everything has changed,” Omeruo, who has 69 international caps and was part of Nigeria’s African Cup of Nations winning squad in 2013, said.

“The weather is unpredictable, communities are struggling, and even football pitches we once trained on have flooded or dried out. Climate change is something we live with every day.”