Sport, Climate Change, Enviro, Justice.

Page 1: Introduction

• Topic Overview: Sport, Climate Change, & Environmental Justice

• Content aims to explore socio-cultural perspectives in kinesiology.

• Credit: © Hayhurst, 2025

Page 2: Agenda

• Definitions: Climate Change & Environmental Justice

• Review of Sport’s Environmental Impacts (Chen & Kellison, 2022)

• Videos featuring Dr. Maddy Orr and Dr. Liv Yoon

• Introduction to Environmental Justice Paradigms: Distributive, Procedural, Recognition

• Discussion & Reflection on key topics

• Key Takeaways and Preview of Part 2

Page 3: Learning Objectives

• Define climate change and environmental justice.

• Understand sport's role in environmental impacts.

• Recognize three Environmental Justice paradigms:

  • Distributive

  • Procedural

  • Recognition

• Apply intersectional thinking to discussions.

• Consider historical and local contexts.

• Engage emotionally and connect insights to practice.

Page 4: Importance of Focus

• Sport as a significant global industry with economic, social, and cultural influence.

• Sport is both a contributor to and affected by environmental challenges.

• Potential for transformative justice in sport management.

Page 5: What is Climate Change?

• Defined as long-term shifts in temperature and weather patterns.

• Primarily driven by human activities, especially greenhouse gas emissions.

• Effects include: extreme weather events, sea-level rise, and disruptions to ecosystems (Chen & Kellison, 2022; Orr, 2024).

Page 6: Key Impacts of Climate Change

• Beyond just rising temperatures: changing weather patterns, and extreme events.

• Social and ecological disruptions:

  • Affects agricultural outputs, infrastructure, and public health (UN Women, 2019).

  • Sport-specific impacts, such as rising temperatures hindering playability (Wilson & Millington, 2020).

• Deepening economic & social inequalities, especially affecting vulnerable communities.

Page 7: Defining Environmental Justice

• Involves fair distribution of environmental benefits and burdens.

• Ensuring marginalized communities actively participate in decision-making processes.

• Acknowledges intersections of race, class, and power dynamics (Chen & Kellison, 2022; Pellow, 2004).

Page 8: Continued Understanding of Environmental Justice

• Aims for equal access to a healthy environment and fair decision-making (Chen & Kellison, 2022).

• Requires involvement of all stakeholders, particularly marginalized communities.

• Challenges systemic inequities rooted in colonialism and capitalism.

• Calls for participatory, intersectional approaches in policy.

Page 9: The Nexus of Sport and Environment

• Sport facilities and events significantly use resources and generate waste.

• Sport has potential for positive community engagement and advocacy.

• Highlights tensions between economic growth and ecological impacts (Wilson & Millington, 2020).

Page 10: Climate Extremes Impacting Sports

• PBS News segment highlighting how climate extremes are altering the sports landscape.

Page 11: Discussion on Weather vs Climate

1. Reconciling heavy snowfall in Toronto with overall global warming trends.

2. Understanding the distinction between 'weather' and 'climate' aids sports organizations in adapting events and training.

Page 12: Environmental Justice Paradigms - Distributive

• Focus on distribution of environmental goods and harms.

• Key issue: Inequitable sharing of resources and risks, e.g., pollution in low-income areas.

Page 13: Environmental Justice Paradigms - Procedural

• Focus on fairness in decision-making processes.

• Key issue: Ensuring all voices are represented in planning and policies, e.g., adequacy of consultations during sport projects.

Page 14: Environmental Justice Paradigms - Recognition

• Focus on acknowledging diverse cultural and historical identities.

• Key issue: Respecting connections of Indigenous and marginalized communities to the land, beyond superficial acknowledgments.

Page 15: Urgency in Environmental Justice for Sport

• Environmental justice as an action-oriented concept to address power imbalances.

• Importance for sport management research; opportunity to align practice with justice and transform practices for community benefit.

Page 16: Intersectionality in Environmental Justice

• Links environmental harms with race, class, and gender issues (Chen & Kellison, 2022).

• Low-income communities of color bear the brunt of pollution and displacement from sport developments.

• Examination of whose input is absent in sport facility decision-making.

Page 17: Continued Intersectionality Focus

• Recognizing overlapping identities (gender, race, class) in shaping experiences of environmental challenges.

• Environmental issues are interlinked with broader socio-economic inequalities (Thomas, 2022).

Page 18: Historical Factors in Environmental Justice

• Legacy of colonialism and systemic racism affecting land use.

• Historical exclusion of Indigenous voices has lasting impacts on current environmental outcomes (Bullard, 1990).

Page 19: Local Contextual Factors in Environmental Justice

• Recognition of local contexts shaping ecological impacts and community vulnerability.

• Importance of Indigenous and community-specific knowledge systems in sport development.

Page 20: Dr. Liv Yoon: Kinesiology & Climate Justice

• Focus on contributions from Dr. Liv Yoon regarding kinesiology's role in climate justice.

Page 21: Discussion and Reflections

• Reflect on sport’s role in addressing climate change.

• Emotions evoked by the video: hope, urgency, concern?

• Consideration of a trauma-informed, hopeful approach to discussions.

Page 22: Key Takeaways

• Climate change is a human-driven crisis with profound impacts (Chen & Kellison, 2022).

• Environmental justice entails fair distribution, inclusive decision-making, and true cultural recognition (Chen & Kellison, 2022; Bullard, 1990; Whyte, 2018B).

• Sport can both aggravate environmental degradation and offer transformative potential (Wilson & Millington, 2020).

• An intersectional, historically informed, and emotionally resilient approach is crucial.