Ghaziabad, Sep 2 : With extreme weather events such as floods and heatwaves affecting the country, IMT Ghaziabad hosted the Climate 11 Summit, the first initiative in India to explore how sports can drive the fight against climate change.

The summit put sports at the heart of climate action, showing how athletes, federations, and the wider industry can become global leaders in sustainability.

Inaugurating the event, Atish Chattopadhyay, director of IMT Ghaziabad, said the institute was committed to tackling environmental challenges through partnerships between academia, business, and sport.

The sessions were led by Kanishka Pandey, Head of the Centre for Sports Research, who explained the interdependence of sports, society, and climate. 'If we make environmental issues a part of the identity of sports, we will not only save sports but also lives, communities and futures,' he said.

The discussions featured powerful voices from the global sporting landscape. Renowned author David Goldblatt warned that worsening climate crises could darken the future of sports. Piara Power, Trustee of the Chelsea Football Club Foundation, emphasised that the massive reach of sport must be used to raise climate awareness. Arhan Bagati, founder of the Bridging Gaps Foundation, urged young people to contribute to conservation through sport, while Shaji Prabhakaran of the Asian Football Confederation and Neeraj Jha, Head of Sports at Warner Bros.

The summit ended with key resolutions designed to position sports as a game-changer in climate action. These included creating a global knowledge network linking sports bodies with universities and experts, building green stadiums and eco-friendly infrastructure, promoting climate education through grassroots sport, driving green finance into the industry, and ensuring India emerges as a global leader in merging sustainability with sport.

/IANS