A competition has been launched which will see motor racing stars and fans compete to reduce their carbon emissions.

The challenge has attracted a number of big name stars, including past and present Formula 1 champions Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.

The stars hope to inspire motor racing fans to take individual climate saving actions and will compete for overall carbon footprint savings.

The challenge sees eco-campaign group Count Us In team up with Extreme E, a new off-road racing series involving electric cars.

Anyone taking part can choose from a range of pledges, including eating more plant-based food, which has been proven to make a significant difference to the environment, and switching to an electric car. Everything will be tracked via a competition leader board and the overall team will win a sustainability award at the end of the season.

The organisers hope to inspire new audiences to take climate action by purposefully targeting fans of motor racing, a multi-billionaire dollar industry.

Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO of Extreme E, said:

More people watch sport than science documentaries, and with 24% of global greenhouse gas emissions coming from transport, Extreme E believes it can use its powerful media platform to shine a spotlight on the issues we face, and the need to act now to help protect our futures.

The announcement is part of a wider campaign led by Count Us In to inspire people and organisations take eco-action, and in turn influence policymakers to help bring about the systematic change needed to reverse a climate and ecological emergency.

Former Formula 1 Champion Nico Rosberg said:

Sport is an amazing platform to not only drive awareness, but also inspire action in the fight against climate change – the single biggest threat to our planet today. I hope every fan can take a simple practical step to protect what they love from climate change.

Image by Morio licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0