Winter sports sponsored by carmakers, airlines contributing to shrinking snow cover, finds report
1 min read 27 Feb 2023, 05:25 PM ISTThe biggest contributor of these was carmaker Audi who sponsors the largest governing body in winter sports, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), according to a report by Guardian.
PremiumWhat could be the biggest irony in a world that is fighting to reverse the effects of climate change? Companies sponsoring events which they also hamper in their daily production line up.
Confused?
A recent report by New Weather Sweden has found that more than 100 events, organisations and athletes were sponsored by fossil fuel companies, carmakers and airlines.
The biggest contributor of these was carmaker Audi who sponsors the largest governing body in winter sports, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), according to a report by Guardian.
Notably, almost 90% of the vehicles produced by Audi in 2021 were petrol or diesel driven.
Rising global temperatures have, on average, shrunk snow cover in the northern hemisphere by about 90,000 square kilometres a year, the new report said. The Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 was the first to rely almost entirely on artificial snow.
The report also found sponsorship deals from 12 fossil fuel companies, including Gazprom and Equinor, and five airlines, including British Airways and SAS.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday stressed the importance of legal challenges against “climate-wrecking corporations" like fossil-fuel producers, ratcheting up his call for the fight against climate change —- this time before the UN's top human rights body.
“Fossil fuel producers and their financial backers need to understand a crucial truth: pursuing mega-profits when so many people are losing their lives and rights, today and tomorrow, is completely unacceptable," he added.
Meanwhile, the rising temperatures have also affected European country Italy, which faces an impertinent threat from of another drought.
Gondolas lay beached along a series of Venice's famed canals this week, as low tides and a lack of rain left would-be punters high and dry.
Tourists out on the deeper, busier canals sailed passed exposed foundations of ancient palazzos in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, while in shallower ones, forlorn boats sat on silty mud flats.
