Chris Boardman’s Pedal for Paris
Chair of Sport England Chris Boardman is on an 8-day bike ride to highlight the need for climate action. It’s called Pedal for Paris.
It started at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester on Tuesday 16th July, and finishes in Paris tomorrow, Tuesday 23rd July 2024.
The destination is Paris because it’s almost 10 years since the Paris Agreement, where world leaders committed to act on the climate crisis. The Olympic Games also start in Paris on 26th July.
Going for Green Pledge
Every sports club and community group is invited to sign the Going for Green pledge to become more sustainable. This can be by steps such as promoting active travel, improving energy efficiency, or increasing biodiversity at venues and events.
Other suggested measures include reducing reliance on single-use plastics and increasing the reuse of sports equipment and kit.
Visits Along the Way
Boardman and his posse will be visiting green innovators along the way – organisations that are getting stuck in.
This includes Manchester Bike Kitchen, the British Mountaineering Council in the Peak District, and Lewes Football Club.
Why the Need to Act on Climate Change?
Boardman explains how climate change is already affecting sport in England.
‘In the relatively short time since [the Paris agreement], extreme weather has become frequent enough to be almost normal, with games cancelled because of flooded pitches, temperatures often making it hard to exercise outdoors, and water quality stopping us from swimming and paddling.
So it’s time to act, to take lots of small steps that, when combined, add up to meaningful change; whether it’s car-sharing, launching a kit recycling scheme or planting trees at your local club, these are the kind of thing that we need to turn into the normal’.
The Sport England Chair adds:
‘None of this will be easy, but the brutal truth is that climate change simply doesn’t care.
So let’s get on with it, embrace the challenge and show the nation how to tackle the biggest challenge we will ever face, and how to win’.
Videos
Chris Boardman introduces Pedal for Paris in this video.
Along the way, he is posting videos on Twitter such as this one from Day Three which features James Haskell and Mike Tindall.
The third leg of #PedalForParis saw @Chris_Boardman joined by @jameshaskell and @miketindall13, as they embraced being active in nature.
— Sport England (@Sport_England) July 18, 2024
But we all need to play our part in order to continue to participate in outdoors activity, as @trashfreetrails demonstrated. pic.twitter.com/GTOA1xnEXn
Pedal for Paris finishes tomorrow in the French capital.