Assessing the implementation of the Sports for Climate Action Framework in National Olympic Committees

Bibliographic Data

ID22430276
AuthorsL Moustakas (0000-0003-3388-4407, University of Applied Sciences Kufstein, corresponding author), Alexandra Graindorge-Alday (University of Applied Sciences Kufstein), Kathrin Patzsch (University of Applied Sciences Kufstein)
Year2026
Pages1-16
Publication date2026-04-20
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Sport Policy and Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1940-6940 • E-ISSN: 1940-6959
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/19406940.2026.2662217
OpenAlexW7154970983
LanguageEN
References cited32

This study examines how National Olympic Committees (NOCs) implement the United Nations’ Sports for Climate Action Framework (S4CAF) and the contextual factors influencing that process. Drawing on Contextual Interaction Theory (CIT), the research focuses on the interaction of actor motives, cognitions, and resources with broader political and organisational contexts. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with representatives from 11 NOCs that have signed the S4CAF. The findings reveal that while the framework provides legitimacy and structure for sustainability initiatives, its practical impact depends on each organisation’s internal motivations, cognitions, and broader socio-political environment. The S4CAF functions both as a legitimising instrument that enhances the credibility of sustainability efforts and as a structuring mechanism promoting measurement and planning. However, its implementation remains constrained by limited financial and human resources and by entrenched competition-oriented logics within sport systems. Though the framework encourages change, it rarely challenges the growth-orientation of elite sport. As such, fostering meaningful climate action in sport requires not only enhanced organisational climate capacity and collaboration but also a fundamentally re-questioning of the structure of sports as a whole.

Climate change · Doping in Sports · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts · Sports, Gender, and Society

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