British Olympians, Paralympians write to government about green recovery from coronavirus crisis
Team GB rower and environmental lawyer Melissa Wilson: "The UK has a golden opportunity to show international leadership on the most important issue facing humankind"
By Liam Grace
Last Updated: 24/09/20 6:18pm
Over 300 British Olympians and Paralympians have signed a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling on the government to lead a green recovery as the UK deals with the coronavirus pandemic.
Sky News recently examined whether or not the UK can lead a green recovery, with climate change correspondent Lisa Holland joining Dermot Murnaghan and Adam Parsons on a special edition of the Sky News Daily podcast.
The letter from Olympians and Paralympians was written by Team GB rower and environmental lawyer Melissa Wilson, who believes the current global crisis presents a huge opportunity for change.
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It follows the letter written by the chiefs of some of Britain's leading charities, who also wrote to the Prime Minister in June with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) claiming a green recovery could create over 200,000 jobs in the UK.
Titled 'A Green Recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic', Wilson's letter reads: "Dear Prime Minister, If it were not for the COVID-19 pandemic, the world's hearts and minds would have been captured this summer by the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games: events that have 'Passing on Legacy for the Future' as part of their core mission.
"Yet the years where that Legacy will unfold are under acute threat from climate change. In February this year, you confirmed that 'there can be no greater responsibility than protecting our planet, and no mission that a Global Britain is prouder to serve'.
"With the COP26 and G7 presidencies next year, the UK has a golden opportunity to show international leadership on the most important issue facing humankind. We can sit timidly in the pack, pretending that we have no role to play in the unfolding race. Or, like the athletes we would have watched this summer, we can race to win.
"We urge your Government to act consistently with the recognised need for 'urgent action', by developing a truly Green approach to recovery from the pandemic.
"In championing this approach, the UK can take confidence from the last months, which have demonstrated the incredible capacity our society has to make huge alterations from 'business as usual' in order to protect one another.
"The economic benefits of pursuing a Green recovery have also received emphatic endorsement from the Committee on Climate Change, the present and former Governors of the Bank of England, and research from Oxford University.
"At the closing ceremony of the London Olympics 2012, Seb Coe (1980 and 1984 Olympic Champion) said: 'One day we will tell our children and our grandchildren, that when our time came, we did it right.'
"As present and former athletes, we urge you and your Government to bring new truth to these words, leading the way out of the pandemic whilst forging the ultimate Legacy: a healthy, safe Earth for all.
"Yours sincerely, Champions for Earth, supported by over three hundred GB Olympians and Paralympians."
'UK must send global message on climate change'
Sky Sports News caught up with Wilson as well as gold medallist Helen Glover, one of over 300 to sign it.
"These months have been incredibly hard, but we have had the opportunity here to add our voices to something which will encourage the government to take opportunities over the next few months and into next year," Wilson said.
"We must send a strong global message that the environment is our number one priority and we must take on ambitious policies to make sure that we prioritise that appropriately.
"A green recovery is receiving endorsement by the present and former Governors of the Bank of England - Andrew Bailey and Mark Carney. The WWF predict that a green recovery could create over 200,000 jobs by 2030 and a report by Oxford University found that green packages could provide superior economic impacts when compared to traditional stimulus."
Glover added: "There was no question when I was approached that I would sign this.
"We're really fortunate as sportspeople to have a platform. Climate change and the future of our planet has to be at the forefront of our thinking."
Redgrave: Britain's kids need clean air
Five-time Olympic champion Sir Steve Redgrave said: "As an athlete you need a healthy environment to perform at the highest level.
"It's vital Britain's kids grow up with clean air, access to green spaces and healthy diets. The UK has always been a leader, and sport can play its part by working with organisations like BASIS to make sustainability a priority, but we need the country to lead on delivering a safe environment to nurture stars of the future."
Double Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington OBE added: "Swimming has been my passion since I was a kid, but we are increasingly seeing our global waters and marine environments polluted and exploited.
"Just as in 2012, UK leadership can deliver a successful global UN climate summit that can lay a legacy for future generations. This isn't going away and we need to act now to ensure the future."
Double Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee MBE said: "As a triathlete, I've been training for intense heat at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics: I know how hard it is to perform in blistering conditions.
"I love to compete, but I also want my sport to be safe for generations to come - that's why I want the government to take a lead on tackling climate change."
