Almost 100 days before the start of the Olympic Games, the impact of Paris 2024 on the planet is “too big“to be ecological”sustainable“, according to theNGO Carbon Market Watchwhich calls for reform “radical“. Originally, the Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games had promised that the Paris Games would be “climate neutral“, i.e. without net emissions of greenhouse gases. But in the face of criticism, the communication has changed and now talks of carbon pollution equal to half that of the previous Olympics.
“We are very happy that Paris 2024 has backtracked” compared to his initial statement, Benja Faecks, an expert at Carbon Market Watch, told AFP, and “we welcome the fact that they have produced a carbon budget before the event“, despite doubts about “legitimacy” of the calculation. Paris 2024 is expected to emit approximately 1.58 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, less than half the average of 3.5 million tonnes from the London (2012) and Rio (2016) Games. But the goal “It seems ambitious at first glance” And “difficult to verify“, warns the NGO. In his opinion, the organizers’ climate strategy remains “incomplete” And “lacks transparency“: “Neither the methodology nor the details of the calculation method were disclosed“, explains the organization in a report. The organizers “they deserve praise” for their attempt to make an event of this magnitude more ecological, but “despite the marginal improvements“, the carbon footprint of the Games “remains too high to be sustainable“. This is “encouraging“, but “we need to do more“, he summarizes Gilles Dufrasneone of the managers of Carbon Market Watch.
By sector, Carbon Market Watch predicts that the main greenhouse gas emissions will come from transportation (about 40%) and buildings (32%). The rest is split between food (1%), non-food purchases such as groceries (20%) and energy consumption (8%). For its part, the Committee estimates that emissions will be split into three thirds: one for travel (and 25% of the total for spectator travel only), another for construction (including 25% for permanent buildings) and the third for Games operations (accommodation, security, catering, etc.).
They have been accomplished “efforts” to limit emissions resulting from construction – 95% of the infrastructure is already existing or temporary – or thanks to vegetarian menus, but “organizers have their hands tied when it comes to addressing major sources of emissions,” the report reads. This is the case of the air transport of athletes and spectators, whose emissions, at present, “cannot be significantly reduced“.
Carbon Market Watch also highlights “inconsistencies“, in particular in the choice of sponsors: “The absence of climate criteria“imposed on partners”it is a missed opportunity (…) to influence large companies“. Finally, the NGO defined “opaque” le organizers’ promises to offset unavoidable emissions with carbon credits. The use of this mechanism “it is problematic in all cases“, says Faecks, because on the one hand it implies the possibility of “overcome limits” and on the other hand because “high-quality carbon credits are in short supply“.
Can the Games still be organized in a period of global warming? “It is clear that the Olympic Games cannot truly be compatible with respecting the 1.5 degree warming barrier“, the most ambitious goal of the Paris agreements, “unless we radically rethink” their organization, believes Carbon Market Watch. Instead of bringing together athletes and spectators from all over the world in the same place, the NGO suggests that for each discipline the competition be held in a different city with access reserved for local populations: athletics in Mexico City, water sports in Buenos Aires, combat sports in Seoul, cycling in Ankara, etc. In addition to reducing the carbon footprint, “the other benefit would be to increase the accessibility of the Games“, with more people able to see them on site, says Carbon Market Watch.
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