We Play Green and Rainforest Foundation Norway
How the global football family can save rainforests and fight climate change
We Play Green and Rainforest Foundation Norway work together to harness the unparalleled global passion for football and the visibility and impact of professional football players. We aim to create a green movement and get politicians and decision-makers to take the actions needed to stop deforestation, save the rainforest and solve the nature and climate crises.
Photo: Shutterstock
Deforestation accounts for 10-15 % of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Rainforest Foundation Norway partners with We Play Green to save the rainforests and create a liveable climate for future generations.
"The partnership between We Play Green and Rainforest Foundation Norway has a lot of the ingredients that we need to actually solve this big global crisis. They can help us reach the masses, and we can come with the latest knowledge and provide input on how we can get the political change needed."
Anders Haug Larsen, director of international advocacy at Rainforest Foundation Norway
Empowered and Meg Ryan feature partnership
A new episode of the US documentary series Empowered, presented by Meg Ryan, features the efforts of We Play Green and Rainforest Foundation Norway to mobilize the global football family and stop deforestation and global warming.
Empowered (https://www.empoweredprogram.com/)
highlights some of the most critical stories that affect the way
consumers live across the planet. The documentary series utilizes
educational television to create a snapshot of our world, and the
endless possibilities that will shape society’s future.
The program features Norwegian professional football player Morten Thorsby, founder of We Play Green, and Anders Haug Larsen, director of international advocacy at Rainforest Foundation Norway.
The episode will air on local PBS stations in the USA from December 2024 to March 2025. An educational commercial will be broadcast on ESPN.
"We Play Green believes that saving the rainforest is fundamental to saving the world from the climate and environmental crises. Football is one of the biggest sports on the planet. It reaches out to more than 5 billion people. If we can use our voices and speak up about these important issues, we can reach and engage the amount of people needed to make a big and important change."
Morten Thorsby, professional football player and founder of We Play Green.
BRAZIL: Indigenous women playing football in Brazil. Photo: Letícia Leite / ISA
Rainforests: A massive carbon sink and a treasure trove of life
Preserving the world’s rainforests is vital to solving the global climate and nature crises. These vast and biodiverse forests are a massive carbon sink, capturing over 1000 billion tons of carbon dioxide. They are also home to up to 80 % of all land-based plant and animal species.
Forest management by Indigenous peoples and local communities is a
proven and highly effective way of protecting rainforests. Rainforest
Foundation Norway works with Indigenous and local organizations to
secure land rights for the communities who call the rainforest their
home.
Photo: Thomas Marent
COP30: Influencing a critical climate crossroads
The next critical crossroads for our future is when the world gathers to solve the climate crisis at the COP30 UN climate summit in Brazil in November 2025. This might be our last chance to get politicians and decision-makers to take meaningful action to stop deforestation by 2030 and reach our climate goals.
PARTNERS: Morten Thorsby, founder of We Play Green and Anders Haug Larsen, director of international advocacy at Rainforest Foundation Norway. Video still: We Play Green
We Play Green and Rainforest Foundation Norway: Harnessing the power of soccer to stop deforestation.
Rainforest Foundation Norway and We Play Green will create visibility
and awareness leading up to the COP30 summit through events, campaigns
and other relevant and engaging activities with our passionate football players.
Together, we will inform, motivate and mobilize the global football family
to take action against deforestation.
