With the Winter Olympic Games, the pressure on the exploitation of natural resources and the climate in a fragile ecosystem like that of winter sports is also growing. These issues are also being felt within the sector itself: some of the most important outdoor athletes in the world have promoted the Ski Fossil Free campaign, which has currently surpassed 25,000 signatures from professionals, enthusiasts, and citizens globally.
The goal: to ask the governing bodies of winter sports to end relationships with sponsors linked to fossil fuels and to adopt concrete and measurable measures against climate change.
The petition was launched in January by the Norwegian Nikolai Schirmer and has surpassed 20,000 signatures in just one month. Among the signatories are also Kilian Jornet, Alex Hall, Hedvig Wessel, Bruno Compagnet, Markus Eder, Graham Zimmerman, and many others.
The petition
On February 4th, the professional freerider, filmmaker, and climate activist Nikolai Schirmer went to Milan with Giorgia Garancini, general coordinator of Protect Our Winters Italy, to officially deliver the Ski Fossil Free petition to Julie Duffus, head of sustainability at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the occasion of the start of the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Games.
The petition, available at skifossilfree.org, has garnered the support of Olympians and professional athletes from different countries, along with leading industry brands and climate organizations like Protect Our Winters. The joint request is clear: the IOC and the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) must plan a gradual exit from fossil fuel sponsorships, aligning winter sports with the goals indicated by climate science.
Following the meeting, in a public statement made to the BBC, the IOC president Kirsty Coventry acknowledged the need for the organization to “do more” on the climate front, emphasizing that dialogue is ongoing but that progress “takes time”.
A position that Schirmer welcomes as a sign of openness, but judges as insufficient given the urgency of the context. “It’s not about a single sponsor or an edition of the Games”, he stated. “Winter is warming faster than expected. The science is clear: we must drastically reduce global emissions and abandon fossil fuels in favor of already available alternative energy systems. Our sports depend on snow, ice, and stable seasons, and these elements are disappearing now. Acting later means accepting that many winters and many winter sports, as we know them now, will disappear.”
Schirmer also refers to the scientific evidence collected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), highlighting how the climate crisis not only threatens winter sports – defined as “a frivolous tip of the iceberg” – but also the availability of water in densely populated areas like the Western United States and Australia, as well as the reduction in agricultural yields in the global South.
A coherence problem
The campaign targets the evident reputational short circuit generated by the presence of fossil fuel companies among the sponsors of winter events, including the role of Eni as a premium partner of Milan Cortina 2026. However, the organizers clarify that the request goes beyond the individual case: the goal is to accelerate the energy transition and to stop the normalization – even through sports – of industries deemed responsible for worsening the climate crisis.
According to the promoters, the issue is also one of strategic positioning and value coherence. When energy companies continue to expand fossil fuel production, while promoting their image through winter sports, the perceived risk is that of greenwashing. Athletes demand leadership capable of reflecting the scale and urgencyof the crisis.
The campaign also refers to studies showing how global warming could drastically reduce the number of locations suitable for hosting future editions of the Winter Games (we also discussed this on page 12 of the 1/2026 issue of Outdoor Magazine). Rising temperatures are already shortening seasons, reducing snowfall, and accelerating glacier loss globally – a theme that directly affects the entire outdoor industry, from resorts to equipment manufacturers.
Drawing a parallel with the tobacco advertising ban introduced by the Olympic movement, supporters of Ski Fossil Free argue that, once the impact of fossil fuels is unequivocally recognized, their sponsorship becomes incompatible with the values of sport.
The petition asks IOC and FIS to publish, by the start of the 2026/27 season, a comprehensive report on the ethical, environmental, and health impacts of fossil fuel sponsorships in winter sports and to define a clear roadmap towards divestment and partnerships aligned with climate goals.
Meanwhile, the signatures continue to grow daily. The collection will remain open throughout the spring, coinciding with the FIS World Cup stages, where several national teams are sponsored by companies in the fossil fuel sector. The message from the athletes is clear: protecting winter means acting now.
