Climate change: Andy Murray and Tom Daley join call to COP26 delegates for climate action

Britain's Andy Murray and Tom Daley are among leading global sports figures joining forces to appeal for action to ensure a "healthy and safe" planet.

Murray and Daley are two of more than 50 athletes representing 40 countries appealing to world leaders at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

Double Olympic sailing champion Hannah Mills and British rower Melissa Wilson have organised the campaign.

The athletes' appeal is made in a video called Dear Leaders Of The World.

Delegates from around 200 countries are attending the COP26 conference, which began on Sunday and will run until 12 November. They are there to announce how they will cut emissions by 2030 and help the planet.

With the world warming because of fossil fuel emissions caused by humans, scientists warn that urgent action is needed to avoid a climate catastrophe.

Alongside three-time Grand Slam singles tennis champion Murray and Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist Daley, the video - supported by the International Olympic Committee - features many other major sports figures.

They include marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge, Britain's seven-time Paralympic champion Hannah Cockroft and Spain's six-time NBA All-Star basketballer Pau Gasol.

The video describes climate change as "the race we need to win" and athletes are hoping the appeal will showcase the need for global powers to preserve and protect the planet.

"As athletes, we have a huge potential to be powerful advocates for the environment," Mills said.

"Sport has a cultural and political influence. The platform athletes have and the support they receive from fans means we are in a key position to communicate about what matters."

Wilson added that they had been "overwhelmed" by the response from athletes around the world.

In September 2020, she wrote to the UK government calling for a "green recovery" to the pandemic, in a letter that was signed by more than 320 British Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

She also worked with Team GB in the build-up to Tokyo 2020 developing a one-hour climate education session for athletes.