The ENOS Policy Position Paper on the EU Green Deal is a fairly long and detailed document that highlights our views on the green deal but also how the outdoor sports sector can respond to support its implementation. Our response involved the creation of 10 distinct sections or chapters and over the coming weeks our sustainability group will provide some key information on each of these topics:
- Reconnecting people with nature to help increase, enhance and protect biodiversity
- Being green, eating green and supporting sustainable agriculture
- Clean energy for clean and green sports
- Sustainable industries, resources and equipment for outdoor sports
- Greening our outdoor infrastructure
- Be mobile, #BEACTIVE
- Zero pollution in our natural environment
- Climate action
- Research and innovation
- Investing in a green future
Clean energy for clean and green sports
To achieve the climate objectives, the EU considers the decarbonization of the energy system and the infrastructures that depend on it to be essential. To this end, it includes a plan to prioritize energy efficiency and develop a sector based on renewable energies.
ENOS powerfully supports this plan and acknowledges the importance of renewable energy sources but this needs to be caveated with considerations of the natural environment. That means, first and foremost, to make an effort to reduce consumption of energy.
Along these lines, ENOS recommends that the EU should adopt the principle that renewable energy systems should not detract from the landscape. Nor should they have a detrimental impact on biodiversity or ecosystems.
This should include considerations for sighting of wind turbines and solar panels; not damming natural flowing rivers or tidal lagoons/bays.
ENOS recommends that local and regional authorities actively engage with outdoor sports stakeholders. This should be included in planning, management and consultation when developing renewable energy systems at the local or regional level.
Outdoor and activity tourism businesses and clubs should convert their energy supply to green energy and seek to reduce consumption through use of low energy technologies and actively campaign for low cost green energy solutions.
A great example (but not from the outdoor sports sector) is: “Arsenal’s Emirates stadium powers itself for 90 minutes with new battery”, is possible to read the information on this here.