The Lord Bishop of Sheffield

My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 13, to which I have added my name. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, for tabling this significant addition to the Bill. Our national game has a vital role to play in support of the Government’s commitment to reach net zero by 2050, not least because there is a vital connection between the long-term financial sustainability of English football and its long-term environmental sustainability. We know that climate change impacts sport; we therefore need to equip clubs, especially those in the lower leagues, to mitigate the vagaries of extreme weather, whether in the form of droughts or torrential rain. Incorporating a duty to monitor and reduce the climate impacts of English football would only enhance its value to our nation and local communities. Football clubs have a history of social, cultural and even moral leadership. I celebrate the example of Kick It Out, a campaign established in 1993, under the name Let’s Kick Racism Out of Football, to raise awareness and tackle all forms of discrimination in sport. Given this precedent, I invite noble Lords to imagine the difference it would make in South Yorkshire if Barnsley, Doncaster Rovers, Rotherham United, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday football clubs together led the way in our region to a more climate-friendly future. Why should English football not be on the front foot, rather than on the back foot, in the journey to net zero? I am tempted to call it an open goal. I commend the amendment.