Ghaziabad, Sep 02: The Climate 11 Summit — Delhi Edition, hosted at IMT Ghaziabad, concluded with the unveiling and single on-stage signing of the Delhi Declaration on Sports and Climate Action. In a first-of-its-kind global moment, leaders across India’s sports ecosystem—athletes, federations, clubs, leagues, government, academia, media, sponsors and broadcasters—signed the declaration together in one ceremony, underscoring sport’s power to drive credible climate action.
Adopted in Delhi NCR on 2 September 2025, the declaration sets out a shared commitment to integrate environmental sustainability into the core of Indian sport and to review progress annually at the Climate 11 conference.
Signatories and distinguished participants included Devendra Jhajharia (President, Paralympic Committee of India); Satya Prakash Sangwan (Vice President, Paralympic Committee of India); Piara Powar (Convenor, Climate 11 Summit & Trustee, Chelsea Foundation); Dr. Atish Chattopadhyay (Director, IMT Ghaziabad); Dr. Kanishka Pandey (Faculty & Head, Sports Research Centre, IMT Ghaziabad); Arhan Bagati (Founder – KYARI&Awareness and Impact Ambassador for the Paralympic Committee of India); David Goldblatt (Football Historian & Climate Activist); Shahji Prabhakaran (football administrator); Sharda Ugra (Senior Indian Sports Journalist); Abhishek Ranjan (Joint Secretary, UN Global Compact Network India); Neeraj Jha (Head of Sports, Warner Bros. Discovery – India); Bhuvan Ravindran (Research Assistant, Arctic Initiative, Harvard Belfer Center); Phani Bhushan (Founder & Director, India Khelo Football); Sharan Ghai (Research Portfolio Lead, Earthly); Adarsh Kumar (Harvard–MIT Global Climate Policy Project); Sanjay Gupta (Chief Business Officer, Jakson Group); Sumedha Tanwar (Sustainable Finance Lead, Children & Youth Major Group to UNEP); Tashi Gyalson (CEC, LAHDC, Ladakh); Vikram Singh Malik, IAS (Administrative Secretary—PDD/Youth Services & Sports/Information & PR, UT Ladakh); Tariq Panja (Chief Football Writer, The New York Times); Jhonson Kanjirathingal (Filmmaker, Travellers’ Guide to Indian Football); among others.
Arhan Bagati—Kashmiri youth leader and Founder, KYARI (Kashmir’s Yumberzal Applied Research Institute)—played a dual role through the day as both speaker and moderator. He brought grassroots lessons from Jammu & Kashmir, stressing practical, community-driven steps such as heat/AQI safety, shade and hydration at venues, inclusive access, and a simple set of season-by-season KPIs.
The Delhi Declaration will now be circulated to India’s leading sports bodies and stakeholders, inviting partnerships with leagues, clubs, cities and corporates to translate the commitment into measurable actions—so environmental protection is treated as both a necessity and an opportunity. Participants emphasized that today’s signing was not symbolic, but a collective pledge to turn dialogue into action through teamwork, inclusion and sustained grassroots engagement.
Climate 11 convenes leaders from sport, policy, media and business to accelerate practical climate action across the sports ecosystem
