Elite sport must ‘give it everything’ to become more sustainable: Formula E at COP28

Action from the Jakarta E-Prix in June 2023. (LAT Images)
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Updated 21 November 2023
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Elite sport must ‘give it everything’ to become more sustainable: Formula E at COP28

  • 28th UN climate summit will take place in Dubai from Nov. 30 until Dec. 12

DUBAI: Formula E will call on elite sport leaders to “give it everything” in their sustainability efforts when its representatives attend the UN’s COP28 summit.

The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, its teams and partners will be represented at the event by a delegation hoping to showcase how high-performance motorsport and sustainability can co-exist without compromise. Formula E is the world’s first sport to be net zero carbon since its inception.

COP28, which will be held in Dubai from Nov. 30 until Dec. 12, will see governments discuss how to limit and prepare for future climate change. It is the 28th such annual UN conference.

Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds said: “Elite sport reaches a global audience of billions every week. Athletes are among the most followed and influential people on the planet.

“Collectively, we have the potential to make positive changes for a more sustainable future and encourage fans to do the same. To use popular football manager parlance, we need to ‘give it everything.’”

The Formula E delegation attending COP28 will comprise teams and partners including ABB, DHL, UNICEF, NEOM McLaren Formula E Racing Team, and Envision Racing Formula E Team, using thought leadership sessions to highlight the benefits they draw from the series, such as technology development.

Formula E was conceived in 2011 by businessman Alejandro Agag (now Formula E founder and chairman) and the FIA as the first all-electric single-seater motor racing championship. Its mission is to showcase sustainable mobility in the heart of iconic world cities.

The first race was on the streets of Beijing in September 2014. Nine seasons and 116 races later, Formula E is the first electric world motor racing championship to be officially sanctioned by the FIA, motorsport’s governing body.

Last season, Formula E and the FIA introduced the GEN3 race car — the fastest, lightest, most powerful, efficient, and sustainable electric race car ever built, capable of reaching speeds of up to 200 mph/322 kph. Next season, a significant technological development will be the ability of regenerative braking to provide 50 percent of the car’s energy.

Last season saw Formula E’s drivers push the GEN3 to its limits, breaking every on-track speed and sporting record. Proving that sustainability in sport does not mean compromising on action, most races saw triple-digit overtaking maneuvers.

Series manufacturers include Jaguar, Porsche, Nissan, Mahindra, Maserati, DS Automobiles, and ERT.

In 2020 Formula E became the first sport in the world to have its emissions reductions targets validated by the Science Based Target initiative. It is on track to achieve its target of a 45 percent reduction by 2030 across Scopes 1, 2, and 3.

Season 10 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship begins in Mexico City on Saturday, Jan. 13. The series then travels to Diriyah, Hyderabad, Sao Paulo, Tokyo, Italy (venue to be announced), Monaco, Berlin, Shanghai, Portland, and London.


Lategan leads the Dakar, champion Al-Rajhi withdraws

Updated 08 January 2026
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Lategan leads the Dakar, champion Al-Rajhi withdraws

  • Lategan, last year’s overall runner-up, took his fifth career stage win and led Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah by three minutes and 55 seconds

ALULA, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia’s Dakar Rally champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi declared an end to his title defense and withdrew on Wednesday as South African Henk Lategan dominated the fourth stage for Toyota and took over at the top.

Al-Rajhi had been struggling from the start in his customer entry Toyota Hilux, and was already 19th when he withdrew with technical issues 234km into the 452km part of a two-day marathon stage around AlUla.

“Sadly, our Dakar 2026 journey ends here,” he posted on Facebook. “We’ll come back stronger next year.”

The Saudi explained later that he had lost half an hour with two punctures and, with nearly half the stage remaining until the bivouac and having to go slow with no further ‌spare available, ‌had called it a day.

It ended a difficult ‌year for the Saudi ‌since he won last year, with Al-Rajhi crashing in Jordan last April and breaking two vertebrae. He returned to competition only in September.

Lategan, last year’s overall runner-up, took his fifth career stage win and led Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah by three minutes and 55 seconds.

“Yesterday, we had a total of nine punctures. It’s unbelievable. I think that’s a record in three days. I was lost,” the factory Toyota driver said, his happiness tempered by missing his son’s sixth birthday.

“I didn’t know what to do on the rocks, ‌whether to slow down or not, attack or ‍not. Today I decided to forget ‍all that and just go for it. It’s a lottery anyway.”

Al-Attiyah, a five-times ‍Dakar winner now with the Dacia Sandriders team, was second in the stage — more than seven minutes behind Lategan — to move up from 10th overnight.

“We did a good job, we’re here, and I think we didn’t lose too much time. It might even be good for our start position tomorrow,” he said.

“We didn’t need to push any harder; we’re still some way back. The car is in good condition and we’re happy.”

Ford’s Mattias Ekstrom was in third place overall with teammate and four-time Dakar winner Carlos Sainz fourth and nearly 16 minutes off the lead.

Ford’s overnight leader Mitch Guthrie of the US dropped to 13th.

In the motorcycle category, Spaniard Tosha Schareina took the lead for Honda from Australia’s defending champion Daniel Sanders, who dropped to third on his KTM. American Ricky Brabec was second.

Schareina and Brabec finished the stage in a Honda one-two-three with American Skyler Howes third and Sanders fifth.

“I made some silly mistakes in the navigation. After the refuel, I tried to push and make up time,” said Sanders.

“I felt ‌better in the last half. The bike’s okay. There was a lot of rocks. I tried to protect my tires. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”