For many, the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, projected to become the ‘greenest ever Games’, are now a distant memory. While some might still be relishing in their success (Léon Marchand and Simone Biles included), others are scrutinising the Games and questioning whether its goals were met.
The main environmental goal of Paris 2024 was to halve the carbon footprint from the average of London 2012 and Rio 2016, a particularly ambitious target. This set the carbon footprint goal at 1.58 Mt of carbon dioxide which was less than the 2.0 Mt footprint of Tokyo 2020. When you take into consideration that the Tokyo Olympic Games were organised during COVID when no spectators were allowed, it is clear that the task set for Paris 2024 was a challenging one. Although the exact carbon footprint figures are yet to be published (coming Autumn 2024), the effort to limit ecological impact show initial signs of promise.
The phrase “easier said than done” is especially pertinent in the environmental world, where goals are often set but action is not taken to meet them. However, this ambitious target set by the Organising Committee for Paris 2024 has been reinforced with the necessary measures to fulfil this goal. An astonishing 95% of the venues used for the Olympics were existing or for temporary use, and only the Aquatic Centre was constructed entirely for the Games. Within the Aquatic Centre, the use of low-carbon or recycled materials means that 30 tonnes of waste has been re-used sustainably. Moreover, the 5,000 m2 roof utilised photovoltaic panels, covering at least 1/5 of the electricity needs, and the Games sites were connected to the public electricity grid with renewable sources making up a majority of the energy mix used.
The sustainability efforts for the Games were not only environmentally beneficial but also led to sizeable and rewarding economic savings. [3] Construction costs, for example, have been minimised through the aforementioned use of existing infrastructure with little or no new and permanent facilities being built.
Ultimately, the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris have set the tone for future events through the refreshing and welcome effort to limit environmental impact and remain sustainable. The Games succeeded in demonstrating that sustainability does not have to come at a financial cost, indeed it led to huge savings in this instance. The Paris Olympics undoubtedly marked a step in the right direction environmentally, and the responsibility now falls on Los Angeles to match or exceed this effort for the 2028 Olympic Games.
References:
https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/our-commitments/the-environment/carbon-method
