by PARIS (AP) – Of all the decisions made by the organizers of the Olympic Games in Paris about where to hold each sport, three surfing competitions were sent to the other side of the world – in the waters of the Pacific Ocean in Tahiti – encourage the strongest responses. The Tahitians and others opposed the construction of a new observation tower on the Teahupo’o reef because of fears that it would hurt marine life.
But organizers say it wasn’t just the world-class waves that attracted them to the French territory 16,000 kilometers (9,942 miles) away. Paris Olympic officials had set an ambitious goal of halving their total carbon footprint compared to the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games.
Tahiti’s surf reef is too far offshore for fans to see the action clearly from the beach, so organizers say they calculated most would watch TV instead of taking flights, a major source of carbon emissions .
And it would not require much new construction, they said, less spectators, another source of important emissions.
“We really did the math,” said Georgina Grenon, director of environmental excellence for the Paris Games. “There was less impact in Tahiti compared to other urban areas.”
The choice of Tahiti provides insight into the Games organizers’ approach to achieving their goal of reducing emissions, which cause climate change. It also highlights an inherent tension in the drive for sustainability: There are trade-offs, and reducing emissions does not necessarily mean preserving the environment.
The goal of the organizers is to limit emissions to 1.58 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent for July 26-August. 11 Games and Paralympics that follow. That’s still a lot of pollution—the equivalent of about 1.3 million economy passengers flying one way from New York to Paris on Boeing 787 jets, according to myclimate, a climate and sustainability consultancy.
It is, however, much smaller than the footprint of previous Games.
Organizers say they are thinking about the future of the Games, not just the future of the planet. Fewer cities are volunteering to spend billions on infrastructure that sometimes goes unused. Paris and the next host, Los Angeles in 2028, were the only cities left in the race when they were selected in 2017. For organizers, hosting less wasteful Games, as well as more comprehensive youth oriented like skateboarding.
Paris is under added pressure to be a sustainable model: The city hosted the 2015 UN climate talks that led to the Paris Agreement, the most significant international climate agreement to date. Delegates agreed that the world should limit the rise in global average temperature to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above the 1850s, and ideally limit it to 1.5 degrees (2.7 Fahrenheit) – a goal that is looking increasingly insurmountable.
Independent experts say Paris appears to be decarbonizing in the systematic ways that businesses do: Calculate total emissions, then start cutting, including the many small CO2 savings that add up. Organizers focused on reductions across three categories: construction, transportation and operations.
“They seem to be taking a very thoughtful approach,” said Adam Braun of Clarasight, which builds carbon planning software for companies. “They want to do something that shows how many organizations are going to hold themselves accountable.”
The biggest break since the previous Games is in construction. Organizers say 95% of the facilities are there or will be temporary. Two new structures were deemed inevitable: The Olympic Village, to house athletes and later become office and housing space, and the water center in the disadvantaged northern suburbs of Paris.
The use of wood, low-carbon cement, and salvaged materials helped reduce emissions by 30% compared to traditional methods, Grenon said.
Reductions in operations include food. The average meal in France – prepared in a restaurant or at home – produces about 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of CO2, said Philipp Würz, head of catering for the Games. Paris aims to cut that in half by sourcing 80% of ingredients locally, reducing transport emissions, and offering audiences 60% plant-based foods.
Winning minds as well as taste buds could take work. “Locally grown food is beautiful, and supporting local farmers,” said tennis player Victoria Azarenka. But “when people are making these big gestures, I’m not sure about the impact,” she said of Paris’ overall climate efforts.
Another source of emissions savings is energy. Energy will account for only 1% of emissions, the organizers said. They plan to use 100% renewable power from wind and solar farms, as well as solar panels on several locations.
Stadiums and temporary venues will receive power from the grid instead of diesel generators, which produce a lot of CO2. Giant electrical plugs will remain at venues after the Games, eliminating the need for generators at future events.
It could be argued that reducing transport-related emissions is Paris’ biggest challenge. Tourism officials expect 15.3 million visitors to the Olympics and Paralympics, including 1.9 million from outside France, and at least 850,000 taking long-haul flights.
In Paris, there are low-carbon transportation options — bike routes, Metro trains, buses and other public transit — to all locations.
But the inability to control how people go to the Olympics, or any major event, raises whether humanity can afford such a gathering at the cost of further climate damage.
“Maybe things like the Olympics need to be reconsidered,” said Seth Warren Rose of the Eneref Institute, an advocacy and research group focused on sustainable development. “To gather millions of people in one area is tough.”
Rose said the organizers’ efforts are commendable, but they should have gone further – cutting emissions by more than half and finding more ways to make sustainability a core experience for fans.
Some critics have also questioned some sponsors. Air France, ports operator CMA CGM Group and metals giant ArcelorMittal are leaders in carbon-intensive industries. On their websites, each channeled their Olympic sponsorship and sustainability efforts.
The Upright Project, a Finnish company that creates and analyzes data to assess companies’ impact on the world, looked at sponsors, assigning scores for positive and negative impacts on the environment, health, jobs and metrics another.
On the environment, sponsors’ emissions had a 10-fold negative impact overall.
“I think the current sustainability discourse, in which we effectively celebrate small sustainability changes by companies and glasnoite efforts as actually making a difference to climate change, is extremely harmful,” said Annu Nieminen of the Upright Project in a statement. “If the organizers celebrate the sponsors of Paris 2024 for their sustainability, that contributes to the same harmful discourse.”
In a statement, organizers said the Games provided a “unique opportunity to encourage partner businesses to adopt more responsible practices”.
For emissions that cannot be cut, Paris plans to compensate – a practice known as offsetting. Planting trees, for example, could help remove CO2 from the atmosphere that the Games put into it. But the offset markets are not well regulated, and investigations by news organizations have found that some projects were fraudulent and others miscalculated the amount of emissions captured.
Organizers say they will continue to adapt sustainability plans as they go, including those in Tahiti. The metal judging tower, which replaced the aging wooden Tahiti used to host surfing competitions, was reduced in response to concerns about environmental damage, organizers say. Completed earlier this year, the tower will be dismantled after the Games. It will be erected and used again when world surfing events are held at Teahupo’o.
Organizers say they expect around 1,300 Olympic-accredited people on the island, including 500 flying in. That total includes, probably much less than if the competition were held off the coast of France, surfers, judges, journalists and Games workers.
“We say sustainability is a collective sport,” Grenon said. “Will everything be perfect? No, right? We cannot say that. We are still working very hard to go as far as we can.”
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Prengaman reported from New York. Howard Fendrich and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
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