Transformative climate resilience and sport mega-events – The case of the Australian Open

Autor(en)
Peter Gollagher, Sebastian Fastenrath
Abstrakt

Adapting to extreme weather events and mitigating greenhouse gases have become critical challenges for sport mega-events. It is clear it is increasingly difficult to host large summer and winter sporting events due to weather extremes such as heat waves, storms or droughts. Extreme heat, in particular, makes events – and event management – less predictable and can have a significant impact on the health of athletes, spectators and staff. International organisations such as the United Nations have called for a rethink, and climate action in sport. At the same time, event organisers are beginning to adapt to the new conditions and develop strategies and measures to reduce event-related greenhouse gases. This paper examines whether sport events can act and function as catalysts for sustainability transitions towards a reduced climate impact. Drawing on the literature on mega-events, urban climate resilience and sustainability transitions, this paper introduces the framework of transformative climate resilience to analyse the climate adaptation and mitigation actions of sport mega-events. Using, as an example, the Australian Open – one of the four largest tennis tournaments in the world – valuable insights are provided into the event’s different stakeholders, approaches to climate action, and challenges in building transformative climate resilience.

Organisation(en)
Institut für Geographie und Regionalforschung
Externe Organisation(en)
AECOM
Journal
Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions
Band
48
Seiten
1-14
ISSN
2210-4224
Publikationsdatum
09-2023
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ÖFOS 2012
507019 Stadtentwicklungsplanung, 507027 Nachhaltige Stadtentwicklung, 507024 Umweltpolitik
Schlagwörter
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
Geography, Planning and Development, Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law, Environmental Science (miscellaneous), Social Sciences (miscellaneous), Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 7 – Bezahlbare und saubere Energie, SDG 11 – Nachhaltige Städte und Gemeinden, SDG 13 – Maßnahmen zum Klimaschutz, SDG 12 – Nachhaltige/r Konsum und Produktion
Link zum Portal
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/2bc65ddc-d624-49ec-8af6-84f968bb7b2b