Welcome to The Hotspot, our new newsletter on sport’s relationship with the climate crisis

We delve into the best stories on how sport is changing around the climate crisis, and what can be done to navigate a way forward

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Nelson Mandela said: “Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.” Too optimistic? In 2026, almost certainly. Sport is still a common language, uniting unlikely groups like an all-powerful Esperanto, but it is in trouble.

The pitches we play on, rivers we swim, seas we surf, mountains we climb, parks we run in, air we breathe – all are being degraded by the burning of fossil fuels as the climate crisis turns the sporting landscape upside down.