Bring the Olympic spirit to the task of saving our world

By Joe Robertson

If there is one image from the Paris Games that captured the Olympic spirit, it would have to be what happened on the medal podium following the floor finals in women’s gymnastics, a moment that melted hearts around the world.

American gymnasts Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles, who had won silver and bronze medals, were already on the podium when Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade approached to receive the gold medal. As she stepped up, Biles and Chiles, with smiles on their faces, bowed down to hail the new queen of the floor. It was an incredibly magnanimous gesture of sportsmanship, given how intensely these athletes work to compete at the highest level, a display of grace, humility, harmony and appreciation.

It was also a quintessential Olympic moment, reminding us why this quadrennial event stirs and inspires us. For a little over two weeks, people from 200 nations gather in one place for a unique exploration of human potential. We are moved by the stories of athletes who make personal sacrifices and persevere through daunting challenges to compete in the Games. We witness nonviolent competition between nations and the resilience and drive of the human family. Through it all, the Olympic spirit and ideal invites us to imagine a world where people of all colours and nationalities can live in harmony and create a world that works for everyone. And we begin to see the possibility of a world where, like the Olympians, nations are competitors but not adversaries.

Imagine, then, if we could bring that Olympic spirit to all great human endeavours, starting with the herculean task of fighting climate change to preserve a liveable world. In the coming months, we will have two opportunities to do just that.

The first opportunity comes next month with the Summit of the Future in New York, Sept. 22-23. The Summit will bring together leaders from around the world to “forge a new international consensus on how we deliver a better present and safeguard the future.” The event will culminate in adoption of the Pact for the Future, whereby nations commit to multilateral cooperation in pursuit of goals related to the eradication of hunger and poverty, preserving a liveable climate, avoiding armed conflict and much more.

The Summit and Pact could get the world back on track with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that UN member states committed to in 2015, goals they seek to achieve by 2030. The SDGs are 17 objectives that, if met, would improve the quality of life for all people, reduce suffering and provide all humans the opportunity to meet their full potential. At the halfway point for meeting these goals, however, progress has fallen far short of what’s needed.

A number of factors have contributed to this lack of progress — the global COVID pandemic, war in Ukraine (one of the breadbaskets of the world) and, perhaps the biggest contributor, the devastating impact of climate change. But these are excuses, not insurmountable obstacles. If we bring to these challenges the same spirit of cooperation and appreciation for each other we saw in the Olympics, they can be overcome.

The Pact for the Future, as with many big international agreements, is aspirational. There are no penalties for nations that do not make good on those aspirations. More work, therefore, must be done with the specific actions needed to meet humanity’s goals to bring peace to a world rife with hostility and conflict, to eradicate disease and to provide sufficient and nutritious food for everyone.

With climate change being the driver of chaos and instability that thwarts so many of these goals, the next opportunity to tap into the Olympic spirit of harmony and cooperation is the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, which begins on November 11. The annual Conference of Parties (COP) meetings are huge events. Last year’s conference, held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, had 85,000 participants with 150 heads of state, and the stakes are high at this year’s gathering.

At COP28, 196 nations agreed to “transition away from fossil fuels”, a softer position than the “phaseout of fossil fuels” that scientists and experts agree must happen to have any chance of staying within acceptable thresholds for warming. How we make that transition and how fast will be the topic of heated discussions, but if we can bring that Olympic spirit to the table — respect, appreciation, empathy, a willingness to listen — we can make substantial progress.

One tool to speed up the transition from fossil fuels to clean technologies is a price on carbon. If revenue from the carbon price is given to people, a policy known as “climate income,” not only will carbon pollution be reduced, but low-income households will receive money that can help lift them out of poverty. While it’s unlikely there will be an agreement to price carbon coming out of COP29, the discussions and exchanges of ideas that happen at the conference improve the chance that more nations will adopt this and other powerful tools to stabilize our climate and adapt to the changes of a warmer planet.

The Olympic ideal of people and countries seeing beyond themselves, as the American gymnasts did in Paris, can push negotiators to break through the wall of self-interest that prevents us from doing what needs to be done. A mutual gains approach to negotiation can be the most effective way to achieve the best outcome possible. Let’s bring that spirit to the challenges we face and create a world in which everyone can thrive.

Joe Robertson is the Executive Director of Citizens’ Climate International.