Qatar's Eco-Friendly Stadia Take Heat Over High Energy Demand

The Emirate of Qatar is touting its high-tech plans for eco-friendly stadia as part of its bid to host the 2022 World Cup, but some environmentalists argue that there's nothing environmentally conscious about a major stadium in the middle of a desert that will require massive amounts of energy.

As the Middle East environmental blog Green Prophet points out, creating an environment that allows people to watch and play sports in one of the hottest places on the planet will require a lot of energy. Mark Fenwick, one of the architects involved with the project, admitted as much, saying: "Certainly the most important challenge for stadium design in the Middle East has to do with the need to cool the interior environment to an acceptable level, especially in the summer months."

Qatar's Green Plan for a 2022 World Cup Stadium: Is It Really as Eco-friendly as It Looks?
Treehugger
October 29, 2010

Olympics: Causing or Curing Ecological Issues in Sochi?

A Russian vice-premier is trying to convince locals that the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi will help the resort city to deal with various ecological problems, despite reports that construction for the event had been tainting the environment.

"The main heritage of the Olympics is that ecological problems will be resolved. We have been eliminating dumps, launching an incinerator, and will resolve the issue of polluted water run-off into the sea," Kozak told reporters during a working visit to Sochi.

Last week, the head of the city's ecological council was quoted by Russian daily Novaya Gazeta as saying that the ecological situation in Sochi had worsened significantly over the past six months mainly because of the growing number of cars and increasing construction pace combined with the absence of full-fledged environmental protection measures.

Winter Olympics will help tackle ecological problems in Sochi - Russian vice-premier
Ria Novosti
September 13, 2010

Amazon Bridge Opens Opportunities, Poses Threats

A new bridge being constructed over the Amazon River near the northern Brazilian city of Manaus is seen as an opportunity to expand the region's economic viability and connectivity with the rest of the country, but also a threat to the neighboring rainforest. Manaus is one of the 12 cities hosting the 2014 World Cup.

The bridge - the first on the world's greatest river system - symbolises the surging development at the heart of the world's largest rainforest and will bring much-needed economic opportunities for those living on the far bank. But environmentalists fear that the bridge, combined with new gas pipelines, roads and rising populations, could open up the rainforest to further destruction.

Manaus is the steamy and sprawling industrial capital of the vast Amazonas state, manufacturing the latest flatscreen TVs and mobile phones for the whole of Brazil. It has been an island of wealth for 200 years, but it is now opening up in all directions.

The bridge runs from north to south, to the undeveloped towns of Iranduba, Manacapuru and Novo Airão and towards the untouched jungle. To the west, a 600km gas pipeline will next month begin powering a huge new electricity power station by bringing energy from a pristine part of the forest at Urucu into the city.

First Amazon bridge to open world's greatest rainforest to development
The Guardian via Environment South Africa
July 29, 2010

SA's World Cup carbon Footprint 8 Times the Size of Germany's

The carbon footprint of South Africa's World Cup is being predicted to be eight times as large as that of the 2006 Cup in Germany. The difference is largely due to the distance teams and fans will be traveling to participate in the event.

An appeal had thus been made to FIFA and its partners to make a contribution to reducing the spectacle's carbon footprint as it did in Germany, reported Western Cape premier Helen Zille on Thursday.

At the announcement of a progress report on Cape Town's Green Goal Action Plan for the tournament she pointed out that the carbon emissions would moreover affect the entire globe.

Steps need to be taken to involve everybody who has a stake in 2010 in the Green Goal Action Plan and its objectives.

World Cup carbon concerns
News24
September 18, 2009

Cape Town Moves Ahead with Green Plans

Cape Towne is moving along with the implementation of its 2010 Green Goal action plan -- a series of projects aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the World Cup.

Consisting of 43 projects with specific targets, the aim is to leave a positive environmental legacy after the event. The World Cup's carbon footprint is expected to be bigger than any other major sporting event.

"The carbon footprint is going to be much higher than the previous world cup in Germany for various reasons, including the long distance flights that people from other countries need to take to South Africa," said Green Goal manager Lorraine Gerrans.

Green project goals on track
Cape Argus
June 11, 2009

Green Elements Missing from 2010 Plans

Critics have called out the Local Organizing Committee for its lack of environmentally-conscious preparation for the World Cup. The LOC says plans are on their way.

The Cities of Cape Town and Durban are the only host cities that have tabled interventions to reduce the carbon footprint of the event. Both cities have identified target areas such as transport, water, waste management, energy and climate change, and have implemented a number of actions that will mitigate these impacts.

“We have, however, been working towards a national launch of this programme, but that hasn’t happened as yet. There have been a number of problems - it has been the finalisation of the copyright assignment agreement between the designer, ourselves and FIFA,” explained LOC environment representative Ike Ndlovu to Engineering News.

He adds that the LOC is close to concluding the national launch, and that an announcement will be made soon in this regard.

...With its experience following the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the German political foundation, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), sponsored a series of eight facilitated workshops and two discussion forums with a range of experts, stakeholders and interested parties to assist the City of Cape Town and Western Cape provincial government in developing its Green Goal projects.

Three of these workshops, focusing on sustainable development principles, green building, biodiversity, landscaping and sustainable tourism were held in 2007, with two more held in early 2008 on integrated waste management, and project funding and communications. The 2009 workshops have focused on monitoring the progress of the projects.

The Cape Town Host City Action Plan alludes to the fact that a “comprehensive and integrated set of targets are being developed by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (Deat) and the LOC to assist host cities to mitigate the environmental, social and economic impacts of the 2010 FIFA World Cup”.

Source:
Copyright issues delay launch of SA's ‘Green Goal 2010’ strategy
Engineering News
April 14, 2009