Jordan Roughead is among a group of players urging the next government to pursue more ambitious climate action, and the Collingwood defender is asking voters to consider climate action at the upcoming federal election.
Speaking at the AFL’s launch of Sir Doug Nicholls round on Monday, Roughead said he hoped climate change was a “consideration of most people when they head to polls”.
Collingwood defender Jordan Roughead said he hopes voters consider climate change at this weekend’s federal election.Credit: Michael Willson/AFL Photos
“I think climate is something I think we all need to prioritise in terms of the sustainability of our game, as much as life in general,” Roughead said.
“I certainly want to leave the world in as good a shape as we possibly can, and the science out there shows we need to change the way we’re living currently in order to do that.”
Roughead said he would like to see the federal government implement more ambitious climate change policies, but believed the private sector would lead emissions reduction.
“I’d love for governments to take more action, but I think that most action is going to come from businesses actually prioritising it and essentially forcing governments to change,” he said.
The Australian Business Council currently has more ambitious emission reduction targets than either major party, calling for a reduction of up to 50 per cent in emissions by 2030. Private investment in renewable energy is also increasing, with several Victorian coal-fired power stations scheduled to close in coming years.
Jordan Roughead, Nell Morris-Dalton, Jasper Pittard and Tom Campbell at the AFL Players for Climate Action event last Thursday.Credit: James Thomas
Roughead is a member of AFL Players for Climate Action, which held its first in-person event in Fitzroy last week after being launched by former North Melbourne defender Jasper Pittard and St Kilda ruckman Tom Campbell last year.
Pittard, Campbell and Roughead were joined for the community forum by Western Bulldogs AFLW player Nell Morris-Dalton and Australian Conservation Foundation director of campaigns Paul Sinclair.
Pittard said the players’ group was apolitical and did not endorse any candidate or party at the upcoming election, but said it supported communities moving towards greater climate action.
“Whatever government it is, it just needs to be more ambitious,” Pittard said.
“It doesn’t really matter who’s in government as far as we’re concerned as long as really ambitious progress is at the forefront.”
The group supports The Cool Down initiative, an open letter from more than 300 Australian athletes – including Sydney star Lance Franklin and Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins – which calls for Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions to be halved by 2030, with net-zero emissions achieved before 2050.
The AFL players’ climate group represents more than 280 players across men’s and women’s competitions, including Essendon skipper Dyson Heppell, Swans midfielder Luke Parker and Melbourne forward Daisy Pearce. One hundred and eighty-three players signed the open letter last year.
“It is great to see that we do have a lot of players that are concerned with our level of ambition currently being addressed through the government,” Pittard said.
He said the Black Summer fires forced players to consider climate change more after some teams were forced to train inside due to smoke haze, spurring the creation of the group.
The 157-game player now works on the climate group four days a week after being delisted from North Melbourne in 2020. He said the group would launch new initiatives in the second half of this year that aim to engage fans through social platforms.
“We’ve got a couple of projects like film projects coming out that are going to talk about specific parts of climate, in particular connecting to grassroots footy,” he said.
“Unfortunately, it’s community footy that will and have been feeling the impacts of climate change already, and will continue to do so.”
Conservation foundation campaign director Sinclair said the environmental group started working with the AFL players’ group after the foundation released a report that found installing solar panels on major stadiums and sport headquarters could produce enough renewable energy to power 2890 households.
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.