DENVER \u2014 A group of winter-sports athletes and the world\u2019s biggest snowboard maker want the president of the International Ski Federation to resign after he spoke of \u201cso-called climate change\u201d and said he would rather deal with dictators than argue with environmentalists.<\/p>\n
The climate advocacy group\u00a0Protect Our Winters<\/a>\u00a0sent an open letter Friday urging 75-year-old Gian-Franco Kasper to step aside.<\/p>\n In an interview with the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger<\/a>\u00a0, Kasper said \u201cdictators can organize (big) events \u2026 without asking the people\u2019s permission\u201d and that \u201cfrom the business side, I say: I just want to go to dictatorships, I do not want to argue with environmentalists.\u201d<\/p>\n He also referenced \u201cso-called\u201d climate change, and when challenged on that, responded \u201cWe have snow, sometimes very much.\u201d He pointed to frigid temperatures at last year\u2019s Pyeongchang Olympics. \u201cTo anyone shuddering toward me, I said: Welcome to the global warming,\u201d Kasper told the newspaper.<\/p>\n Kasper subsequently apologized for his comments, saying they were not meant to be taken literally. When reached by The Associated Press via email, FIS officials said they had no further comment.<\/p>\n Protect Our Winters is a nonprofit formed in 2007 to combat climate change. Several dozen athletes are part of the alliance, which also includes scientists and business leaders.<\/p>\n In their open letter, which also\u00a0included a link<\/a>\u00a0for people to add their name to the call for Kasper\u2019s resignation, POW said the Tages-Anzeiger story \u201cconfirms what insiders in FIS meetings have told us for years: that the leadership of the organization is unwilling to acknowledge scientific evidence that threatens the entire snow industry.\u201d<\/p>\nRecommended Stories For You<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n