Cyclists unite against climate change

Samuel Beltman tells Julia Kramer how he combined his love for cycling and passion to fight climate change and turned this into a growing ‘Cycling 4 Climate’ community.

"It is quite something to realise that all the land that you currently see on the left side of the dykes could turn into a sea,” says Samuel Beltman.

He is reminiscing about thoughts that crossed his mind while cycling the Climate Classic 2022 through the Netherlands.

Starting in Breda in the South, the 400 kilometre cycle tour goes all the way to the city of Groningen in the North. Participants cycle through the countryside, rural villages, suburbs and – not surprisingly – over many dykes. These dykes protect the country by keeping the water out. Even though flood control is in the DNA of the lowlying Netherlands, concern about the sustainability of the dykes is rising along with sea levels.

This is exactly what motivated Beltman and his Cycling 4 Climate co-founders, Sebastian Ferfers, Joost Brinkman and Piet Briët, to set out on the cycling journey along the ‘new’ coastline that would be created in the Netherlands if the sea level rises too much.

With more than a quarter of the surface area of the country located below sea level, including the most densely populated urban area that is home to cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, millions of people would be affected if the dikes in their current state became insufficient. “This [new] coastline is such a powerful symbol to show that the threat of climate change is real. We would like to make people aware about this in a fun way and inspire action,” says Beltman.

The idea for what later turned into Cycling 4 Climate was born during a network event for energy professionals and further refined during discussions in the local pub in Utrecht with different local stakeholders.

Initially, Beltman organised a spinning contest on a central square in the city of Utrecht to showcase what it takes to generate your own power. During the pandemic, this evolved into local and national cycle tours for sustainability enthusiasts. He is happy to report that more than one thousand people joined the 2022 edition of the race. This is significantly more than during the kick-off tour in 2020, when they started with a limited participation list of only 50 people. “This is the only exponential growth that I consider to be a good thing,” jokes Beltman.

Jokes aside, the Cycling 4 Climate team seems to have hit the nail on the head in terms of organising an event that perfectly combines people’s post-COVID-19 priorities, such as exercising outdoors and contributing to fight for a bigger cause, and want to step up in the fight against climate change.

According to Beltman, people have various reasons to join the race, besides being keen cyclists. “My dad just became a grandfather and he wants to secure a future for the next generation. Other people are scared that they will never go ice skating again or they worry about biodiversity. By joining, they show that they care [about the climate] and get inspired to do something.”

To inspire even more action, the organisation asks participants when they sign up what they are going to do to decrease their carbon footprint in the upcoming year. This ‘carbon commitment’ replaces the traditional sponsor model used during sports tournaments. “Asking sponsor money for projects is an easy way to buy off climate harm, so we decided to focus more on action instead of compensation.”

Besides being united through their love for cycling and their concern over climate change, participants are also united by the outfits they wear. The Climate Classic jersey is covered in so-called ‘climate stripes’. These blue and red stripes showcase the average global temperature change per year from 1850 until now.

“The last twenty years are red, turning to deep red. You can see how fast it is changing. It sends a message and emphasises the urgency in the blink of an eye. It also sparks conversation.”

Even though Beltman finds the growing enthusiasm for the action-driven cycle classic very inspiring, he confesses that he continues to have serious concerns about the climate crisis and worries that we aren’t acting fast enough, despite policy frameworks like the Paris Agreement and the Green Deal.

He believes the energy sector has an important role to play. “We now need to put all our knowledge together. A lot of the solutions, knowledge and technology already exist, but it’s now all about implementing them.”

The current energy crisis doesn’t help to mitigate the climate crisis any faster, he believes. “We now seem to be shifting to old energy sources again, while we actually need to rapidly speed up sustainable energy sources.”

Having said that, he agrees that ‘energy’ is now more than ever part of climate change discussions. “We took energy for granted but have become more careful about energy use now that there is more awareness that the supply is not unlimited,” says Beltman.

He expects that this topic will only grow bigger and become more urgent, which will likely motivate more people to join the Climate Classic in future years. Indirectly, his foundation further highlights the important role of the energy sector by organising ‘Open Energy Days’ where participants can cycle past sustainable energy projects in their area.

One of Beltman’s Climate Classic 2022 commitments was to inspire even more people to join the event. With multiple provincial cycling tours coming up and ambitions to organise a local Climate Classic in all European countries by 2025, he seems well on track to fulfil this commitment.

“Cycling can be seen as a metaphor. By cycling together, we can reach Groningen. In the same way, we can only tackle climate change when we work together. In both cases, time is our biggest challenge.”

Paddy Young - Director at Enlit Europe
“About 15 years ago, I took over the running of a water event in Europe and I launched shows in India, China and the USA. This was when I first became aware of the impact of climate change on water, both fresh water and seawater. I was shocked at what was happening and what would happen unless something was done. Now with Enlit, we are determined to play a role in accelerating the energy transition, which in turn will obviously have a positive impact on climate change. Therefore, I am engaged with this topic, I enjoy cycling and I feel that small things can make a big difference – so I love their approach with the ‘carbon commitment’.”

Ross Hastie - Media Consultant at Enlit Europe
“I think being committed to the energy transition – and combating climate change – means more than just talking the talk. You need to walk it too … well, in this case, ride it! Of course, we all need to do more than participate in events, but I really liked the idea of a mass of colourful jerseys riding across the countryside – it was something tangible that could incite the interest of the people on the roadside and beyond, not just another social media post. Action, not words!”

Rogier Kuttschreuter - Head of Industry Insights & Engagement at Enlit Europe
“My carbon commitments over the past two years included:
1) reflect on my daily choices and impact on the climate and adjust my behaviour, including less energy use (shower and heating), conscious travelling, and more conscious consumption;
2) inspiring other people to review their choices and create a butterfly effect on a reduction of energy use. I can’t change the world on my own, but I can make a first step while inspiring others to do the same.”