'Tough decisions' Calls for end to fossil fuel sponsorship in sport

The issue of fossil-fuel sponsorships in sports has once again been cast into international spotlight in recent weeks amid controversy over oil giant TotalEnergies' sponsorship of the Rugby World Cup.

As the Santos-sponsored Wallabies contest the tournament in France, some activists sought to draw attention to the issue at home too.

On Wednesday, around a dozen people dressed as zombified Wallabies players took part in a protest against gas major Santos' sponsorship of Australian Rugby on Parliament House lawns.

The protest, organised by environmental activist organisation Rouser and climate advocacy group Comms Declare, called on the government to ban fossil fuel companies from sponsoring and advertising through sports "in recognition that fossil fuels are the main cause of increasingly deadly global warming".

Senator Pocock, who was not associated with the protest but has long been an outspoken critic of the practice, told The Canberra Times fossil fuel companies were "buying social licence at a time when we're seeing the effects of climate change".

"It's time, as communities and as a society, we decide whether we're going to allow these industries to continue to try and buy social licence," he said.

"Many of them have actively tried to undermine the science ... and a lot of them have no credible decarbonisation plan."

In 2021, shareholder advocacy organisation Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility took Santos to court, alleging the company was "engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct relating to its 'clean energy' claims" and net zero plan featured in its 2020 annual report. The case is still going through the courts.

Last year, Tennis Australia cut ties with Santos. But many other Australian sporting teams continue to receive millions of dollars annually in sponsorships from fossil fuel companies.

Research conducted by Swinburne University for the Australian Conservation Foundation last year put that figure at up to $18 million across 14 sporting codes.

Senator Pocock said many athletes were concerned about climate change but faced pressure to "toe the line" when it came to sponsorships.

"You get told that they're paying the bills and you don't want to make a scene and make it hard for your teammates even if you really don't agree with it," he said.

"We're in a situation now where companies that are betting on us not taking climate action ... their very business model will destroy the viability of the sports that they are sponsoring. We shouldn't allow that."

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In May, environmental non-profit Climate Council published a voluntary code to help sporting, arts and other organisations shed fossil fuel sponsorships.

Senator Pocock said there was growing awareness about the impact of climate change on sports.

"During the last drought, there were a number of community sporting grounds that were too hard to play on. There's other community clubs that have been told that they are uninsurable for fire and flood," he said.

"This is having an effect here in the ACT. Raiders and Brumbies had to move their pre-seasons in 2019-20 due to the bushfire smoke."

He added that "the tide was definitely turning" but sporting groups had to make "tough decisions".

"It's really time for sports to put their players interest and their futures ahead of the interests of fossil fuel companies," he said.

"That's going to take some tough decisions and looking for other sponsorships that aren't compromising our futures."