Climate change exacerbates inequality and threatens future of disability sport

Following the conclusion of the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina, Sport England’s strategic lead for environmental sustainability releases an insightful article explaining how climate change is having a disproportionate impact on disabled people’s ability to access and participate in sport and physical activity and why we must take action to protect the future of Inclusive sport.

The article highlights that extreme weather such as heatwaves, flooding, and unpredictable seasonal conditions is already reducing opportunities for people to be active, with three in five adults in England experiencing disruption to physical activity due to weather-related issues. Disabled people are particularly affected because existing systems often fail to meet their needs; for example, accessible transport is more easily disrupted, and sporting environments may not be designed with the flexibility needed to cope with changing conditions. Evidence presented to Parliament shows that disabled individuals face greater negative health and social impacts from climate change, not due to their impairments, but because structural barriers already limit their access to essential support and inclusive planning.

The article also reveals that disabled people are frequently overlooked in national and global climate adaptation strategies, 80% of national climate plans do not reference disability at all. This omission deepens inequalities by leaving disabled people without adequate preparation, emergency support, or accessible sporting environments as weather patterns change. Meanwhile, disabled individuals remain twice as likely to be inactive, despite gaining some of the most significant wellbeing benefits from participating in sport and physical activity. As climate change continues to disrupt sporting calendars, facilities, and safe participation conditions, it threatens decades of hard‑won progress toward inclusion in sport. The result is a growing risk that new environmental barriers will undo advances in equality and participation unless disability inclusion becomes central to climate and sport policy planning.

Read the full Sport England Article Here: The future of inclusive sport | Sport England

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