Central Indiana got its taste of the sports spectacle coming to Paris when it hosted the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in June, an opportunity to see the likes of Katie Ledecky, Notre Dame’s Chris Guiliano and the Shackells from Carmel compete to represent the country.
Beginning later this month, there will be a sport for everyone to watch from basketball to volleyball to soccer, if you haven’t had enough of the two recent international soccer tournaments.
While sports are in the forefront in France, efforts to achieve sustainability are going on somewhat behind the scenes at the venues.
Paris 2024 organizers pledge to halve the carbon footprint compared to previous Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games. That’s a goal matching the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The International Olympic Committee, IOC, wants to remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it emits. Organizers have to be creative in handling energy, transportation and food among other services to protect biodiversity. For one, hydrogen filling stations and fuel cell bases, first introduced in 2020 in Tokyo, will again be used to cut the transportation footprint.
The IOC acknowledges that it generated 9,820 tons in its carbon footprint in 2020, a reduction due in part to COVID restrictions. In 2019, the footprint was 30,050 tons and in 2018 the IOC faced a peak year (60,630 tons) due to the Olympic Winter Games in Korea; an Olympism in Action Forum and Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina; and the construction of Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Attempts are now underway to phase out uses of fossil fuels, increase the proportion of zero- and low-carbon products used, reduce air travel and improve energy efficiency at venues.
There are challenges to the IOC’s annual goal, primarily in ensuring that it doesn’t approach pre-COVID levels while promoting its mission to encourage ethics in sports, education of youth and the spirit of free play around the world.
Some specifics should crop up on the Paris watchlist:
• Single-use plastics are to be eliminated, hoping to inspire behavior changes in spectators and the more than 14,000 athletes.
• A commitment to provide 15 million healthy meals.
• While a limited number of new facilities have been built, the renovation of 20 pools is to benefit residents of Paris, where there is a lack of swimming pools.
• When the Games are over, the athletes’ village along the Seine is to be repurposed for housing, shops and green spaces. Although the U.S. Olympic Committee has ordered portable air conditioners to keep athletes cool in their dorm rooms, village buildings have a system of water pipes beneath floorboards to provide cool air.
While sports viewing should be exciting, consumerism versus climate change bears watching. Hopefully, sustainability performance will set a new Olympic record in Paris.
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