From environmental sustainability to climate change adaptation: the broadening of sport ecology research and implications for sport policy

In recent years, the field of sport ecology research has grown, and its focus has broadened. Initially, this subdiscipline of sport management concentrated on the relationship between sport and environmental sustainability. More recently, attention has shifted towards the connection between sport and climate change. Despite this broadening, there has been little academic discussion about the factors driving this change or its implications for sport policy. This critical commentary aims to spark debate about the interaction between sport policy and the expanding scope of sport ecology research. We pose three questions: (1) What is the state of research pertaining to sport and environmental sustainability, and sport and climate change? (2) What approaches are beneficial for sport ecology and policy scholarship? (3) How might these perspectives inform and shape sport policy? In this commentary, we argue that there are still gaps in the sport ecology literature when it comes to translating empirical and conceptual work into actionable guidance for sport policymakers. This includes addressing the interconnected crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, along with the various ways these crises affect sport and are exacerbated by it. Furthermore, we advocate for increased collaboration between sport policy researchers and sport policymakers to inform and design policy that supports environmental sustainability and climate change resilience within and through sport. By leveraging the complementary strengths of sport-environmental sustainability research and sport-climate change research, we can better design sport policy responses to the complex environmental challenges of the 21st century.