They can make as many sustainability plans as they like, but a system shift is required to make meaningful changes at the Olympics and Paralympics.

Over the past few weeks, millions of us across the globe have spent countless hours watching one of the biggest sporting events in the world: The Olympic Games.

We’ve watched our favourite sports, combined with ones that we didn’t know existed, with several of us even trying out Simone Biles’ floor routine in our living room.

Paris 2024 has been a showcase of serious skill, and the excitement continues as we await the beginning of the Paralympics due at the end of August. But with health professionals expressing concern over athletes competing in 34- degree heat and spectators having to be sprayed with water while watching to keep cool, there is an elephant in the room: the climate crisis.

The Olympic Committee announced their plans for Paris to be the “Greenest ever Games”, hoping to limit emissions to 3.5 million tonnes CO2e; half of the average emissions compared to Rio and London. They have focused on four areas: Firstly, 95% of venues are existing or temporary, with only the Aquatics Centre being purpose-built, and temporary venues undergoing “eco-design criteria”.

They promised to double the amount of plant-based food options, as well as halving the use of single use plastics and implementing food composting facilities They also ensured stadiums were connected to the 100% renewable electricity network, limiting the use of diesel generators. Finally, furniture items were reduced by 25% and 90% of materials were leased rather than bought, reducing general consumption.

So, this is all a step in the right direction with some genuinely green initiatives in place. However, things certainly aren’t perfect in Paris – there is a long way to go. With no previous Games meeting environmental targets, scientists are yet to be convinced of the plans. “It is important to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but to say that the Games are sustainable makes no sense: holding this sort of an event will always have more of an impact than if it didn’t take place,” says Marie Delaplace, Université Gustave Eiffel, to Polytechnique Insights Environmentalists who were disappointed that air travel wasn’t addressed, despite emissions accounting for 34% of the Games’ carbon budget.

The sponsorship from Toyota also faced criticism due to a 2021 lawsuit proposed by the US Government and Environmental Protection Agency for violations of the Clean Air Act by the company. Furthermore, while organisers said they are focussing on Pre-games targets rather than post-games assessment to ensure genuine reduction in emissions, they are still heavily relying on carbon capture by supporting four major forestry projects in France.

However, a 2023 Climate Analytics report asserted that due to the long lifetime of carbon in the atmosphere, “land-based offsets do not and cannot guarantee such long-term sequestration”. Gilles Dufrasne from Carbon Market Watch said to Unearthed. “The burning of fossil fuels is not equivalent to the planting of trees or conserving forests. They are taking some very safely stored carbon, burning it and then trying to replace it with some very unstable sinks”.

A 2021 study lead by Martin Müller, University of Lausanne, evaluates the sustainability of the Olympics. “[Due to their] exceptional visibility […], the Games provide a unique platform to reach a global audience and could serve as a model for cities, countries and other events around the world”.

However, he mentions that academic opinion is divided on this. Some say “mega-events” like the Games can never be completely sustainable. He identifies three measures that could be implemented: The downsizing of events to lessen resources needed, a rotation among previous Olympic cities to reduce construction emissions, and improving sustainability governance by having an independent body that demands credible and meaningful actions. However, he mentions stakeholders aren’t keen on these initiatives as they could damage revenue flows.

This leads us to the root of our problem: our political and economic system. Under capitalism, consumption and profits are deemed more important than health of the people and planet. This is shown in the way we measure success of countries: GDP instead of health of the population.

While “Green capitalism” can somewhat help mitigate the climate crisis, it won’t solve it because when profit is the motive, exploitation of people and natural resources is basically impossible to prevent. “Capitalism drives us towards climate collapse”, expressed journalist George Monbiot in a talk with Intelligence Squared.

So now bringing this back to the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games: We have seen some policies put in place, and compared to the previous Games, improvements have definitely been made, but they still don’t reflect the severity of the climate crisis. Academics have identified the actions that must be taken, but these have been refuted due to the reduction in profits they could cause. Paris 2024 reflects a global problem: The economic model and the need a system change to relieve the worst effects of the climate catastrophe.

Photo Credits: Wikimedia Commons