We are demanding that the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) and The Olympic committee publish a report into whether fossil fuel marketing is acceptable in organised winter sports before the 26/27 season.

The Olympics have ENI the Italian “energy company” as a premium sponsor, with a message about sustainability. Norwegian skiing has had a decades long sponsorship by the “energy company” Equinor, while both the Finns and the Japanese are also promoting “energy companies”.

What these “energy companies” all have in common is that they produce 95-100% of their energy with fossil fuels, and actively lobby governments for continued exploration of oil fields, after decades of claiming to spearhead the transition to non-fossil energy.

Currently ENI invests 15 dollars in fossil for every dollar they invest in renewables, while Vår Energi who sponsors the Norwegian downhill team have 100% of their operations in oil.

These companies are using winter sports to greenwash their operations and ensure the public support they need to not be forced to transition to less harmful forms of energy production.

Even if you’re unable or refuse to understand basic science and believe man made global warming is some kind of hoax, the air pollution alone from burning fossil fuels kill almost as many people annually as cigarettes do, according to the WHO.

Let’s talk death rates.

Wind, nuclear and solar have a death rate of ~0.02 to ~0.04 per TWh of energy produced according Our World In Data.

Oil, coal and gas have 3 - 24 deaths per TWh.

In other words fossil fuels have a death rate 150x - 600x that of the alternative energy sources.

Yes, you read that right. Skiing and snowboarding is marketing energy production that is 150x more deadly than the alternatives, and 75% of the cause of the climate crisis.

That’s unfortunate. So we need your help to put an end to it.

Because marketing works.

Even in a country like Norway, where winter sports are deeply ingrained in the culture, a majority of the population supports continued investment in fossil fuels. The fossil fuel companies are not associated with being the main contributors to an unprecedented temperature spike, or the 5 million deaths attributed just to the air pollution from burning fossil fuels, but with joyful sports and cultural events.

Every year billions and billions of dollars are invested in new fossil energy that is 75% of the cause of the climate crisis according to the IPCC, instead of the readily available alternatives. Renewables have been cheaper or cost competitive the past half decade. Nuclear could be, if we dealt with regulatory hurdles.

Our societies don’t need fossil fuels. We need energy. Renewables are already cheaper in many markets. At Oxford they estimate savings of at least $12 trillion globally if we transition away from fossil fuels by 2050. But that requires action today, and the fossil fuel companies are instead investing billions developing new oil and gas fields that will slow this transition down by decades.

if we don’t transition away from fossil fuels to other less harmful sources we have no chance of combating the climate crisis.

The only reason to keep burning fossil fuels is the marketing and lobbying efforts by the fossil fuel companies. It is a suicidal act for organized winter sports to actively promote the fossil fuels that are cutting short the very thing that sustains them: winter.

If winter sports don’t become a positive force for change they will soon just be sports.

See, we told you marketing works.

This is simply a lie, on par with cigarette companies having doctor’s tell patients smoking was good for lung health back in the 60s.

Scientific American published its first special issues on how the world could transition to non fossil energy systems over a decade ago.

Scientific literature is full of research that shows how the energy transition is not only possible, it would save us at least $12 trillion if we manage to do it by 2050.

Fossil fuels have 150x the death rate of the alternatives, and they are expensive.

This campaign was initiated by professional freeride skier Nikolai Schirmer and is hosted by the Norwegian climate organisation Folk mot fossilmakta.

We believe that winter sports are a positive force for the the world. That starts with refusing to let fossil fuel companies, responsible for one of the greatest challenges of our time, shape our sports.

Our goal with this campaign is therefore to rally the skiing and snowboarding community to prevent fossil fuel companies from using us for their marketing and greenwashing.

Yes! The only way that we can go up against the massive power that the fossil fuel industry has is by getting organised. There are plenty examples now of people managing to speak up against and challenge fossil fuel sponsorships.

Folk mot fossilmakta managed in 2025 to create a huge conversation around fossil fuel sponsorship at the Cross Country Ski World Championships a - eventually getting the support of over 50 leading skiers.

Campaigns in Sweden have put pressure on Vasaloppet over several years due to their sponsorship agreement with fossil fuel company Preem. They have now pulled out of this agreement.

We now want to put pressure on an international level on the FIS and the IOC to take action on fossil fuel sponsorship in winter sports.

Sign the petition and spread the word. If you have a social media channel, use it.

You can find photos for stories and posts here.

If you are an athlete who wants to endorse the Ski Fossil Free campaign see the athlete section above!