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Halving the carbon footprint of the Games

Since its candidature, Paris 2024 has been convinced that major sport events must take their responsibilities towards climate change. Our goal is ambitious: to halve the carbon footprint of the Games compared with the average for London 2012 and Rio 2016.

CHANGING THE MODEL: FROM A POST-GAMES ASSESSMENT TO A PRE-GAMES TARGET

To reduce the Games’ impact on the climate, it has adopted an approach that offers a radical departure from that of previous major sports events, moving from a post-event assessment of its carbon footprint with offsetting activities to the pre-Games definition of a carbon impact reduction target and strategy.

Paris 2024 has set itself the goal of halving the carbon footprint of the Games compared with the average of London 2012 and Rio 2016, i.e. 3.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

To measure its objective of halving the carbon footprint of the Games, Paris 2024 has chosen to take into account all the carbon emissions of the event, both direct and indirect, including spectator travel.

Paris 2024 has considered this as its starting point, in order to guide the choices it has been making since the bidding phase and continues to make throughout the cycle of preparation for the organisation of the Games.

ACTIONS TO REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS INTEGRATED INTO ALL OPERATIONS

For the first time in the history of the Games, Paris 2024 has anticipated the Games' carbon emissions and developed a method for monitoring them throughout the event, using a tool that now combines almost 10,000 data points.

Picture by Drone Press/Sennse

Paris 2024 and its ecosystem are on course to meet this objective thanks to the measures to avoid, reduce and control carbon emissions that were initially defined and that have been implemented in all areas of Games organisation:

  • Construction: a single competition venue built for the needs of the Games, the Aquatic Centre, and left as a legacy to the people of Seine-Saint-Denis
  • Fourniture: favouring rental over purchase and anticipating the second life of equipment
  • Energy: connecting the Games sites to the public electricity grid and giving priority to renewable energy sources to power them
  • Catering: offering a more responsible diet with twice as much plant-based food in meals.

To encourage other sporting events to follow this dynamic, Paris 2024 has launched the ‘Event Climate Coach’, an application designed to help organisers understand and reduce the carbon impact of their events.

CARBON AVOIDANCE AND CAPTURE PROJECTS

Alongside its ambition to reduce the carbon emissions of the Games, Paris 2024 has developed a funding programme for projects aimed at avoiding and capturing carbon emissions, which will aim to offset unavoidable Games-related emissions.

In France, Paris 2024 has chosen to finance 4 forestry projects through the Low Carbon Label: a new forest project (1,340 ha in total) on the Pierrelaye-Bessancourt plain in the Ile-de-France region, and three projects to restock degraded forests, in Montmorency (15 km from the Stade de France), in the Vosges and in the Aisne.

**At international level, Paris 2024 has carefully selected a number of projects that comply with ADEME rules and criteria on voluntary carbon offsetting**and have positive impacts that resonate with the values of Paris 2024 and sport, such as health, gender equality, education and the protection of biodiversity. The Paris 2024 international programme is funding the implementation of nine projects, all close to the equator, which is one of the areas hardest hit by climate change. These projects meet the best international certification standards and provide large-scale transformation. Find out more about these projects.

*In line with recommendations on so-called ‘carbon offsetting’ projects and in agreement with ADEME (the French agency for ecological transition), Paris 2024 has chosen to no longer use the term ‘carbon neutrality’. Nevertheless, it remains convinced that the financing of projects to combat climate change must continue.

    FAQ

    Questions? Contact us

    • Paris 2024 has chosen to rely on 95% existing or temporary infrastructure for the Games.

      At the end of the event, all materials and structures installed on a temporary basis will be repurposed, reused or recycled.

      This commitment was made at the outset of the bid, and all temporary infrastructure operators are committed to meeting this objective.

    • Built on a former industrial wasteland bordering the communes of Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine and L'île-Saint-Denis, the Olympic and Paralympic Village was first designed for the area.

      A project that existed prior to the Games itself, it has been improved and accelerated thanks to the Games, and will be one of the main physical legacies.

      By 2025, it will be transformed into a sustainable city district, with housing, offices and shops, where almost 12,000 people will live and work.

      Solutions for low-carbon construction and a site adapted to the climatic conditions of 2050 include triple glazing, cooling floors, green spaces and geothermal energy.

      During the Games, it will be equipped by Paris 2024 to accommodate the 15,000 athletes, using modular partitions that will be re-used and furniture whose second-life solutions will be identified before the Games.

    • As stated by ADEME since 2022, the notion of "carbon neutrality" - i.e., emitting no more emissions than the planet or a territory can absorb - can only be applied on a global or territorial scale.

      To contribute to carbon neutrality, all organizations must participate in the reduction effort, and can support projects to combat climate change.

      On its own scale, Paris 2024 has set itself the target of cutting event-related CO2 emissions in half, by taking action in all areas of the organization. For those emissions that cannot be avoided, the Organizing Committee has chosen to finance projects that will help combat global warming while providing co-benefits for local populations and biodiversity.

      These include reforestation, forest preservation and renewable energy development projects.

      In line with ADEME's recommendation on climate-related communications, Paris 2024 no longer uses the expression "carbon-neutral" Games, without lowering its ambitions in this area.