The Snow Centre indoor snow complex north of London is to host an ‘Envirojam’ climate change awareness event tomorrow, Friday 12th June.
Envirojam is the idea of two freestyle skiers who organize snow sports events and competitions under the name ‘Jibworx.’
Having witnessed, they say, the decline of the glacier at Les Deux Alpes in France, Jibworx say the aim of the EnviroJam freestyle competition is to educate more snow lovers about the future of snow sports.
“You may think that holding a climate change awareness event in an indoor ski and snowboard destination, is the easiest way to create a bit more controversy!” said a statement on behalf of The Snow Centre, adding, “The organisers hope to demonstrate how we can all help reduce the effects climate change has on our environment and our mountain weather conditions.”
JibWorx plants trees to offset the carbon emissions created during Jibworx competitions and events. The Snow Centre are working with SSE Enterprise and have reviewed work practices and invested in technology to reduce the centre’s energy consumption by over 20% in 2 years and they continue to explore opportunities with the latest technology to be able to provide even better snow conditions in a more efficient way.
The Envirojam will run from 6pm -10.30pm on Friday. The evening will include the showing of a short snow free film to demonstrate the possible future for skiing and snowboarding followed by the ‘just for fun’ competition on the snow (a minimum standard applies to take part).
Team GB Olympic snowboarder, Jamie Nicholls and Climate Super Supporter and Freestyle Skier Luke McCarthy will also be in attendance, performing some tricks on the slope.
The latest report by the Inter Governmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) showed that currently we are not doing enough to combat Climate Change. The direct effect to the snow sports community is that rising temperatures will reduce the length of the winter sports season and threaten the viability of ski resorts.
2015 is a big year for Climate Change Policy. In November, the United Nations climate change negotiations will be held in Paris with the objective of achieving a legally binding framework and universal agreement on climate from all nations of the world. To put pressure on the governments taking part, The Climate Coalition is organizing a range of events to encourage leaders to understand the effects of climate change on us all; central to this is the ‘For the Love of…’ campaign.
