The pace of the planet's warming is accelerating, with the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warning in 2021 that global temperatures are rising faster than expected, with average surface temperatures projected to be 1.5 to 1.6 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial-revolution levels by around 2030. To meet this challenge, global carbon emissions must be halved by 2030 and carbon neutral by 2050.
In the world of sport, as a member of the global village, the sporting world cannot be alone. Indeed, the international sports world's interest in environmental sustainability dates back to the 1990s. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) established the Commission on Sport and the Environment in 1995 and included environmental sustainability in its 1996 Charter, and in 1999, the Olympic Movement elevated the topic of sustainability to its core and standardized the responsibility and evaluation mechanisms of host cities.
In the 21st century, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) began calculating the carbon footprint of tournaments during the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Subsequently, in 2011 and 2012, FIFA developed a comprehensive sustainability strategy and has continued to revise and implement the "Green Goals for Football" program introduced in 2005. This paper provides an in-depth look at the environmental sustainability initiatives of FIFA and the Qatar World Cup.
(i) Carbon footprinting
In order to fulfill its commitment to climate change, FIFA signed a Green Goal agreement in September 2005 between the 2006 WEFA Organizing Committee, the German Federal Government and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to provide technical and promotional support for the event. FIFA began calculating carbon emissions by setting assessment targets in four areas during the preparatory process: water, waste, energy and transportation, and in 2009 FIFA further requested that bids for the 2018 and 2022 WEF tournaments include carbon footprint tracking and carbon offsetting requirements in their bids.
In the same year, FIFA took the lead in releasing the first report on the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions for an international single sport association, which showed that the carbon emissions for that year were 48,500 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. At that time, the carbon footprint calculation was still in the stage of rough estimation. The official report showed that the total carbon emissions of the 2010 World Football Championship in South Africa were 48,400 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, but it did not include the carbon emissions from the transportation of fans during the games. The Ernst & Young report showed that the carbon footprint of the South African World Cup was 2.753 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, of which the carbon footprint of transportation emissions exceeded 85% of the total.
The preparatory cycle for a WEF is usually several years, and the inventory period lasts from three years prior to the start of the event to its closure. In the case of the 2014 WFC in Brazil, for example, the inventory was divided into the preparatory period, during the 2013 Intercontinental Cup of Nations and during the 2014 WFC, covering peripheral events such as the Football Hope Forum and the Intercontinental Cup of Nations Gala Dinner. Calculations included transportation, accommodation, venue operations and overall administrative operations, with an estimated carbon footprint of 2.7 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, of which the WFC in the build-up period accounted for 90%, with transportation being the main source of emissions for all events (83%), with international and inter-city traffic accounting for 61% and 35%, respectively.FIFA, the Brazilian World Football Organizing Committee (WFOC), and Brazil's MGM Innovations Ltd. have jointly released a summary report on the carbon footprint of the 2014 World Football Championship in Brazil.
The carbon footprint of the 2018 World Football Championship in Russia is estimated to be approximately 2.16 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, with ninety percent of the carbon emissions occurring during the tournament. Transportation (approximately 1.6 million tons of CO2-equivalent) and accommodation (approximately 250,000 tons of CO2-equivalent) of the participating members are the main carbon-emitting activity items, with transportation items accounting for 77% of the total, and international and inter-city transportation accounting for 61% and 21% of the total, respectively.The carbon footprint of the WEF 2022 is estimated to be 3.6 million tons of CO2-equivalent, with an inventory period of April 2011 to June 2023, of which 75% (approximately 2.7 million tons) occurs during the tournament, with transportation and accommodation of participating members being the larger carbon emitters. Table 1 shows the carbon footprint of the WFC in recent years.
Table I. Summary of carbon dioxide emissions from previous World Football Championships (in tons of carbon dioxide equivalent)
年份 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2018 | 2022
Carbon Emissions | 350,000 | 2.75 million | 2.73 million | 2.16 million | 3.63 million
Source: Organized by the team
(ii) FIFA Environmental Sustainability Strategy
The Carbon Footprint Inventory for the Soccer World Cup is just the beginning of FIFA's efforts to promote environmental sustainability. As the global governing body of the sport, FIFA is committed not only to promoting the game globally, but also to moving its tournaments and member countries towards sustainable goals.
