Perspectives and Research
517 billion dollars at risk: climate and inactivity
The same research that sizes the sport economy at 2.3 trillion dollars puts up to 14 % of its revenue at risk by 2030. The two threats, and what they ask of everyone in the business.
The World Economic Forum and Oliver Wyman, in the report that sizes the sport economy at 2.3 trillion dollars a year, estimate that it could lose up to 14 % of its annual revenue, 517 billion dollars, by 2030, and 1.6 trillion dollars by 2050, through rising physical inactivity, climate change and nature loss (January 2026). The report gives one combined figure for these risks.
Inactivity
The World Health Organization reports that 31 % of adults worldwide, about 1.8 billion people, did not do enough physical activity in 2022, and that the share could reach 35 % by 2030 on current trends (WHO, 26 June 2024). Fewer active people means fewer players, members, buyers of equipment and travellers to events.
Climate
The same report records 40 % of runners failing to finish a women's marathon at a World Athletics Championships held in extreme heat, games cancelled by three North American leagues during the 2023 Canadian wildfires, and about 320 million pounds a year of weather costs for community sport in the United Kingdom. Sport's core industries emit an estimated 400 to 450 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent a year.
What it asks of the business
Participation is a revenue line to protect, not a cause to sponsor. Venues, calendars and travel are risks to price. Day 3 of the Forum puts the financing of stadiums and the energy transition on the programme, and Day 4 the cost of inactivity.
Sources and further reading
- World Economic Forum with Oliver Wyman, Sports for People and Planet (January 2026)
- WHO, nearly 1.8 billion adults insufficiently active (26 June 2024)
- Oliver Wyman, full report (PDF)
Photograph: Pexels, licensed. No person shown is connected with the Forum.
