The fourth race of the Extreme E season comes loaded with news. The first was the confirmation of Enel as the main sponsor of the event, while the second was the novelty of the category arriving on European territory for the first time in history, being Sardinia, Italy, the place selected for it.
Through its Legacy Programmes, the 100% electric off-road category will address blue and green carbon issues with special attention, as well as preserving sea grasses and promoting initiatives to support the recovery of the ecosystem so severely affected by forest fires.
As Extreme E reports, 13,000 fires have been recorded in Italy since July 2021, more than ever before. Several regions of Sardinia, unfortunately, were totally devastated and forced the residents of Cuglieri, Sennariolo, Scano di Montiferro and Santu Lussurgiu to look for another direction in their lives.
Besides affecting people, 30 million bees were killed after the devastating passage of the fire, extensions of pasture and agriculture were also reduced to ashes causing uncountable damage to lives and means of subsistence, either directed to people or animals. In fact, the outlook is not so encouraging, given the estimated 15 years to restore all the lost land (20,000 hectares).
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Work of Extreme E
Extreme E, alongside MEDSEA, will visit the most affected region by the fires to work together with local communities in order to support the mammoth forest restoration project, replanting olive trees and other Mediterranean natives. Also, in partnership with Enel X, work will be done to reconnect and replenish seagrass (Posidonia oceanica).
“The Enel X Island X Prix in Sardinia will highlight some of the critical issues facing Europe and the rest of the world. It is clear that we must address the root causes of the terrible fires which have destroyed not only Sardinia, but many other countries. We all know that rising global temperatures, caused solely by greenhouse gas emissions, increase the risk of fire not only here but everywhere. The frightening headlines have shown us that. This is an emergency and we need to act now and change to prevent more atrocities like this from happening,” said Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO of Extreme E.
Written by | Ronald Ortega
