Neha Mehta
As the Summer Olympics prepare to dazzle the world from Paris, the backdrop tells a starkly different story: heatwaves and drought ravage Southern Europe, stark reminders of our accelerating climate crisis. The Games’ organizers, in a nod to climate activism, have declared their commitment to sustainability, promising a “historic for the climate” and “revolutionary Games like we’ve never seen before.” But in the city where the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement was signed, these promises feel more like a slick PR campaign than a genuine effort to combat climate change.
Despite the grand claims, the reality is we’re witnessing another iteration of green capitalism—incremental, vague, and loosely accountable. While it’s too late for Paris to overhaul its plans entirely, true sustainability in the Olympics requires reducing the event’s scale, limiting long-distance tourism, thoroughly greening supply chains, and ensuring transparency. Until such radical steps are taken, the Olympics will remain a greenwash, offering lip service at a time when the climate crisis demands bold, systemic action.
The Paris 2024 Olympics are shaping up to be a grand spectacle of greenwashing, offering lip service when bold, systemic action is desperately needed.
This greenwashing trend is not new to the sports world, where there’s often a glaring disconnect between lofty environmental rhetoric and meaningful action. Major events like the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup have long paraded their environmental concerns while doing the bare minimum—or nothing substantial at all—to foster real ecological change.
The Paris 2024 organizers insist they’re blazing a new trail. Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 Olympics, told Time magazine, “We’ve promised to cut the carbon footprint in half from the London Olympics in 2012.” The London Games emitted about 3.3 million metric tons of CO2; Paris aims for 1.5 million metric tons. Admirable goals, but as Madeleine Orr, author of Warming Up: How Climate Change Is Changing Sport, notes, “There is no version of a sustainable Games as of yet.” Christine O’Bonsawin, an Indigenous sport scholar and member of the Abenaki Nation at Odanak in Quebec, aptly calls these efforts an “Olympic sustainability smokescreen.” The current model of the oversized, fossil-fuel-reliant Olympics simply cannot align with genuine sustainability.
The Paris organizers have indeed made strides. They’ve minimized new construction, with only two new sports facilities and the addition of the Media Village and the Olympic Village. Bio-sourced materials and local plastic waste are being used for construction. For example, seats in the aquatic center are made exclusively from local plastic waste. The Olympic Village construction aims to limit carbon intensity to less than 650 kilograms of CO2 equivalent per square meter, which is half of France’s average for similar buildings.
The Paris Olympics also boasts a robust plan for “sustainable catering,” targeting zero food waste and sourcing 80% of ingredients locally. They aim to reduce animal products by 50-60% and double plant-based options. Most venues are within a 10-kilometer radius, and 100% of the electricity used will be renewable. Yet, despite these efforts, skepticism remains warranted.
Environmental watchdogs Carbon Market Watch and Éclaircies have criticized the lack of transparency and precise methodology in Paris 2024’s plans. The claim of 100% renewable electricity, for example, can be misleading. Not all renewable energy certificates are equal, and there’s often a gap between certificates and the actual procurement of renewable energy. The New Climate Institute notes that these certificates often fail to contribute significantly to new renewable energy installations due to oversupply and low prices.
Moreover, the Paris Games have already inflicted environmental damage. The installation of an optional tower for the surfing competition in Tahiti has damaged coral reefs, prompting a petition signed by over 250,000 people. Paris 2024’s carbon offset strategies also risk perpetuating “carbon colonialism,” offloading environmental burdens onto the Global South. A stark example is a Norwegian forestry company’s carbon offset project in Uganda, which caused pollution and evictions.
Concrete, a highly destructive material, was used unnecessarily for a temporary skate park at the Place de la Concorde, further highlighting the disconnect between Paris 2024’s claims and actions. Concrete production is notorious for its environmental impact, including water consumption and habitat destruction.
Despite promises of revolutionary sustainability, the Paris Games remain ensnared in the trappings of eco-fantasy, delivering more optics than authentic change.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), which should provide guidance, is itself a major greenwashing culprit. Sponsors like Coca-Cola, Toyota, and Samsung have significant environmental issues, from plastic waste to Clean Air Act violations. Studies show that the IOC’s commitment to sustainability has diminished over time, with recent Games like Sochi 2014, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and London 2012 being among the least sustainable.
As athletes and spectators gather in Paris, we can celebrate the spirit of competition and unity the Olympics foster. However, the Paris 2024 Olympics’ sustainability efforts, though slightly more genuine than past efforts, still fall short. The gap between symbolism and substance remains, and true environmental stewardship requires much more than what Paris 2024 offers. The Games need to be reimagined fundamentally if they are ever to become genuinely sustainable. Until then, we’re left with a spectacle of greenwashing under the guise of progress.
