FIS's future plans are met with heavy criticism

“It was very important to me to have a significant impact on the sustainability of our sport immediately after my election,” said FIS President Johan Eliasch in a recent public statement. The world association is trying to achieve the status of a climate-positive association as quickly as possible.

During the past season, the FIS worked with the organization Planet Mark calculated the ecological footprint of all competitions and made the resulting figures public. Now they want to leave this mark on the environment with the help of a rainforest initiative called Cool Earth reduce. However, the way in which the association goes about its work does not meet with approval from all sides. Fine math and no development Jörg Sommer, CEO of the German Environmental Foundation, criticized the FIS for its actions. Opposite the sports shoes he expressed his concerns about the credibility of the project. Although the approach of becoming climate positive by 2022 is respectable, the implementation would have no impact on the environment. Since the FIS through the organization Cool Earth is only interested in buying up larger areas of the rainforest, the commitment is seen as more of a whitewash than a contribution to environmental protection. Is the FIS strategy more about calculating than acting? © ANSA / PHILIPP GUELLAND / STF

According to Sommer, this is a common practice today. Large companies repeatedly use this climate loophole to present themselves positively to the outside world. But that is anything but a positive development. “Now we come here with our money and buy the rainforest from the nations. So that we can continue to organize our ski circus and whitewash the CO2 emissions that continue to be caused,” he denounces the behavior of the FIS.

In the end, the high CO2 emissions of the individual competitions would be maintained. “You're not compensating for anything, you're calculating it nicely. They cause CO2 emissions with their flight in exactly the same way, whether they add a few euros to it or not. “But that doesn’t change the fact that the flight emits CO2 – and that is relevant to the climate,” adds Sommer. Therefore, specific action would have to be taken at individual venues. The double role of Johan Eliasch The expert is also critical of the role of the newly elected President Johan Eliasch: “However, it is exciting to know that the founder of Cool Earth is Johan Eliasch, i.e. the President of the FIS. That’s why it’s an internal family event, to put it bluntly.”

The question should therefore be asked as to who ultimately earns the most from the collaboration. Given the fact that the FIS does nothing more than buy up parts of the rainforest in order to reduce its own ecological footprint, the effective value of the desired climate target must be questioned.

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FIS's future plans are met with heavy criticism

According to its own statement, the International Ski Federation (FIS) is working to become the first climate-positive winter sports association in the world. However, given its approach, the FIS is facing strong criticism.

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