Climate Change Activists Are Skeptical About the Qatar 2022 World Cup’s Green Claims
FIFA, the international governing body of association football, has announced that it will host the first-ever carbon-neutral World Cup this year. The host country, Qatar, the world's largest emitter of CO₂ per capita, has pledged to invest in initiatives that will capture greenhouse gases to maintain low emissions and purchase carbon credits to eliminate the impact of carbon footprint that the tournament produces. But, environmentalists and climate change activists are not very convinced.
The author of Carbon Market Watch's report Gilles Dufrasne expressed skepticism about such claims: It would be great to see the climate impact of FIFA World Cups being drastically reduced. But the carbon neutrality claim that is being made is simply not credible." Dufrasne further noted the following"Despite a lack of transparency, the evidence suggests that the emissions from this World Cup will be considerably higher than expected by the organizers and that the carbon credits being purchased to offset these emissions are unlikely to have a sufficiently positive impact on the climate."
The report conducted by the advocacy group specializing in carbon pricing, Carbon Market Watch (CMW), reveals that those emission calculations are underestimated for several reasons. The calculations ignore not only some primary emissions sources but also the credits currently being bought to offset it have a low level of environmental integrity, which means they are inaccurate and unlikely to benefit the environment.
One key reason why Qatar's pledge to host a carbon-neutral World Cup seems improbable is the underestimation of the emissions related to the construction of the tournament's seven permanent arenas, which activists claim are eight times higher than the figures released in Qatar's reports. Instead of measuring emissions of the entire life of the stadiums, including the construction period, only 70 days in which the stadiums will be used are considered. According to CMW's report, FIFA's calculations also fail to account for emissions from cooling air-conditioned stadiums.
In addition to the apparent underestimation of emissions, the stated carbon credits quality and environmental integrity are in question. A brand-new standard was developed exclusively for the World Cup Championship, casting doubt on the legitimacy and impartiality of this certification scheme. It is also improbable that the implemented projects will produce enough credits to offset the tournament's emissions fully.
One example is the large-scale "tree and turf nursery," a tree and landscape grass nursery consisting of 16,000 trees to absorb emissions. And it uses recycled water for its irrigation system. However, to have a real climate impact, the carbon has to remain stored for centuries, and these artificial green spaces are unlikely to be permanent. Hence, low-quality offset credits plans won't qualify the World Cup as carbon-neutral.
Qatar’s spokesperson from the Supreme Committee of Delivery and Legacy responded to the report by saying: “We are on track to hosting a carbon-neutral World Cup. The methodology used to calculate the carbon-neutral commitment is best in practice and was designed to be based on actual activity data, after the World Cup has concluded. This will be published, and any discrepancies will be explained and offset.” and that the CMW’s criticisms were “speculative and inaccurate.”
The stadiums constructed to host Qatar 2022 World Cup are water- and energy-efficient. By implementing voluntary sustainability standards, many stadiums have outperformed industry benchmarks, and Ras Abu Aboud Stadium is one example.
The 40,000-seat stadium will be the first in FIFA World Cup history to be completely demountable, with its parts being able to be used to establish new sporting events. This innovative technique will set new standards for waste reduction. Another important step Qatar takes toward reaching carbon neutrality is using solar energy to power the country throughout the event. A massive 800MW solar energy facility on a 10km2 site is now being built in Qatar. According to Qatar’s reports, the built plant will keep producing clean, renewable energy for decades, establishing a lasting legacy as a carbon reduction project after the tournament.
Activists' doubts about Qatar World Cup's green claims seem reasonable. However, the country's efforts and commitment to a carbon-neutral World Cup should be recognized rather than ignored or criticized. The organizers are fully aware of mega-events' effects on the environment. Qatar has been making considerable efforts to tackle and mitigate negative impacts and maximize the positive outcomes of its iconic tournament. These efforts and initiatives will have a significant sustainability impact on Qatar and the surrounding regions. And will serve as an invaluable model for future international sporting events.
References:
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/08/football/qatar-fifa-world-cup-green-mime-intl/index.html
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/61636473
https://theathletic.com/news/2022-world-cup-carbon-neutral-challenged/ChjkzZLqfsae/
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