The excerpt below is taken from the Guardian article, “Tennis Australia ends partnership with Santos after one year.”

“Tennis Australia confirmed to Guardian Australia on 23 January, that oil and gas giant Santos had been dropped as a partner.

“Santos was a partner of AO2021, however they are no longer a partner now,” a Tennis Australia representative said.

Tennis Australia is a signatory to the UN Sports For Climate Action framework, which seeks to use the “soft power” of sport to encourage meaningful action on the climate crisis.

Tennis is among those sports considered to be uniquely affected by climate change. The 2014 Australian Open – where play was stopped and 1,000 spectators were treated for heat exhaustion when temperatures rose above 40C – is considered an example of how climate change affects sport.

The 2021 partnership deal faced strong community backlash, with 7,600 people signing a petition addressed to the Australian Open chief executive, Craig Tiley, as part of a campaign on social media.

Sports organisations have also come under internal pressures, with 300 professional athletes signing up to a campaign urging more action on climate change.

The chief executive of 350 Australia, Lucy Manne, whose organisation coordinated the campaign, welcomed the end of the arrangement, saying Tennis Australia “should be congratulated for ending their association with Santos”.

Santos – which is seeking to develop new gas projects in the Beetaloo Basin, Barossa, and Narrabri – still sponsors several major sporting events, including the Tour Down Under, which begins on 30 January 2022.

Last year the International Energy Agency said limiting global heating to 1.5C, a goal set out in the Paris agreement, meant exploration and exploitation of new fossil fuel basins had to stop in 2021.”  

All information above is from the Guardian. Read the full article here.

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Get involved with the movement !!  Be part of the solution. 

To adhere to the IEA’s mandate, in 2022 Woodside can turn toward supporting the production of batteries to store solar energy, the production of green hydrogen, the exploration and extraction of copper and rare earth minerals, the installation and maintenance of wind turbines and solar panels, and the retrofitting of buildings. 

The time has come for our sports, arts and community programs to drop all sponsorship from fossil fuel corporations, to stop them from polluting our beloved cultural activities.

Woodside gets its social license to pollute (and push ahead its monstrous Scarborough gas project) by slapping its logo all over WA, from the Little Nippers to the Western Australian Orchestra. 

If you are a member of the Dockers, the WA Surf Lifesaving Club, or any organisation/program that is sponsored by Woodside – we want to hear from you! 

We are keen to support de-sponsorship campaigns and kick fossil fuels out of our communities. There’s no need for new gas, but we need a liveable Planet. That’s why we have to collectively act urgently now to reduce warming and polluting of our planet.