Paris, gold for the greenest of Games?

France is aiming for gold in sustainability at this year’s Olympics, promising to host ‘the greenest’ Games in history this summer. But many hurdles remain.

Since day one of the French capital’s application by Mayor Anne Hidalgo, the condition was clear: the Games would either be eco-friendly, or they would not take place.

The goal for this year’s event is to halve carbon emissions compared to the average of London 2012 and Rio 2016, estimated at 3.5 million tonnes of CO2. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) outlined a roadmap during the bidding phase, positioning legacy and sustainability at the heart of the project.

According to the roadmap, Paris 2024 is set to achieve its ambitious carbon reduction target through a low-impact concept.

However, putting on a sports event that attracts millions of people from over 200 countries poses a significant challenge for reducing the carbon footprint. An analysis of past Olympic Games, conducted in 2021, found that the sporting events have never been environmentally sustainable, with a tendency to get worse over time, despite organisers claiming the opposite.

New energy efficient sports venues

Newly built structures for the Olympics generated 30 per cent less carbon per square metre compared with a standard project in France, according to Georgina Grenon, Paris 2024’s director of environmental excellence. That is because 95 per cent of tournament venues required either already existed or are temporary.

One of the two permanent sports facilities built from scratch is the Aquatics Centre, located in Seine-Saint-Denis. The building is low-carbon and uses bio-based materials such as wood rather than concrete or steel, both of which create carbon dioxide in their manufacturing process.

The centre requires less cooling and heating as it has a 5,000 sqm roof covered with photovoltaic panels, which can supply all the energy it needs, and it’s considered to be one of France’s largest urban solar farms.

Porte de La Chapelle Arena will host a range of Olympic events, from basketball to badminton and rhythmic gymnastics.

Roof garden with solar panels

The building’s roof has a garden and there are solar panels to provide energy for the venue. Positioned in the building’s basement is a power station aiming to produce and provide heat and cold, not only for the venue but also for the surrounding district.

The Athletes’ Village was also designed to be environmentally friendly, running on 100 per cent renewable energy, with photovoltaic panels on the rooftops of buildings to help satisfy local electricity needs.

Yann Krysinski, operations manager at Solideo (the public body in charge of Olympic and Paralympic infrastructure), said a lot of natural materials had been used while constructing the buildings, generating 47 per cent fewer CO2 emissions than conventional methods. All buildings are less than 20 metres high and often have wood even in their structures and floors.

A heating and cooling system based on geothermal energy has been installed in the Athletes’ Village, which will be without air conditioning. It has been promised that rooms’ temperatures will be six degrees Celsius cooler than the outside temperature.

Relying on sun and wind to power Games

Sobriety in infrastructure, transport and energy has been at the core of planning. Organisers intend to rely on wind and solar power over fossil fuels to power all competition venues for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It comes as a stark contrast to the 2022 FIFA World Cup hosted by Qatar, which featured air-conditioned stadiums.

Electricity and natural gas will account for less than one per cent of the Games’ overall footprint. Most of the energy will be sourced from the French power grid, known for its low emissions due to its reliance on nuclear power.

Organisers have secured a deal with Électricité de France (EDF) to purchase renewable power equivalent to the Games’ consumption. Backup generators will run on biofuels, eliminating the need for diesel generators typically used in case of power failures.

However, a recent in-depth assessment of Carbon Market Watch, an NGO working on the long-term decarbonisation of Europe, found that the carbon footprint of the Olympics remains far too high to be sustainable.

Carbon budget transparency

The carbon budget lacks transparency, with emissions mainly coming from construction and transport. While noting improvements, it assesses that major emission sources remain difficult to address.

Critics argue for a complete overhaul of the Olympic model to meet climate targets, proposing decentralised hosting and sponsorship reform. They say real action is needed to truly align the Games with climate objectives.

[By Xhoi Zajmi I Edited by Brian Maguire | Euractiv’s Advocacy Lab ]

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