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 per cent 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.