A few days before the start of the Winter Games, which take place in Beijing from February 4 to 20, a question arises: can the Games be an accelerator in favor of ecology?
You may remember in Beijing, for the 2008 Games, the objective was to see a blue sky, in a sky usually gray and polluted. It had worked, but today obviously, to accelerate ecology, we must aim for more than a blue sky.
To read the official reports of China and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), these Beijing Olympics should be “the greenest and cleanest ever made”. To achieve this challenge, the organization enjoys a small advantage. Unfortunately due to the current epidemic, there will be no spectators from abroad. The ecological cost of air transport will be significantly reduced. Another announcement from Beijing: the energy supply for the Games will only be renewable thanks to numerous wind turbines, solar panels and electric coaches.
But a real downside remains. For the Winter Games, the crucial lack of snow in certain areas resonates. Large quantities of scarce water make up for this deficit to create artificial snow.
In previous editions, the cities also wanted to be exemplary. The main arguments revolved around sustainable catering, an incentive to use public transport, clean mobility for all the delegations on site, and the use of 100% renewable energy on the sites.
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The main objective announced by the Parisian organizing committee is to ensure carbon neutrality, offsetting emissions that cannot be avoided. On average, 3.5 million tonnes of carbon were emitted during previous Games. Paris 2024 has a target of 1.5 million tonnes. Three poles capture their attention: transport, construction and operations linked to the competition.
It goes through the design of the Olympic village thought of as an eco-district where the buildings will have to be as ecological as possible. Vigilance will be total in the choice of materials (wooden construction and BBC (low energy building), use of recycled materials from local sectors) .
A real asset of the organization: very few constructions are planned because 95% of the installations already exist or will be temporary. For the first time in the history of the Games, a position dedicated exclusively to environmental excellence has been created.
Over the next few years towards the 2024 Paris Games, the challenge will be to combine sobriety and innovation and to avoid greenwashing. Some already have ideas like Jérôme Giacomoni, president of the Aerophile group, with the creation of a Para-PM, a vacuum cleanerfine particles to fight against pollution. Several models will be installed around the A86 and within the village. Ldevice could reduce air pollution by 15%.