Viser le vert

The report analyzes the Paris 2024 climate strategy, noting that while efforts in construction and food procurement are robust, there is significant opacity regarding carbon credit purchases, energy sourcing, and the overall carbon budget. It criticizes the evolution of public communication from 'carbon neutrality' to 'climate positive' as misleading and highlights the incompatibility of many official sponsors with the Paris Agreement. The document argues that incremental improvements are insufficient and proposes a radical redesign of the Olympic model, such as distributing events globally to reduce international air travel and infrastructure needs.

• Paris 2024 set an ex-ante carbon budget goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by half compared to the average of the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Summer Games, targeting approximately 1.5 MtCO2e.
• The climate strategy for construction is considered robust, utilizing 95% existing or temporary sites and implementing low-carbon standards for new buildings, such as the Olympic Village's target of not exceeding 650 kgCO2e/m2.
• Food procurement strategies are rated as robust, aiming for an average of 1 kgCO2 per meal—a 50% reduction compared to the French average—and ensuring 80% of food comes from France.
• The strategy for non-food purchases is described as incomplete or unclear, specifically criticizing the ambiguous use of 'carbon neutrality' for 100% of products and services, which may mislead the public.
• Transport emissions, representing about 40% of the total footprint, are insufficiently addressed, particularly regarding international travel for spectators and athletes, with the organizers relying on informative rather than restrictive measures.
• There is a lack of transparency regarding the '100% renewable electricity' claim, as it is unclear whether this is achieved through low-impact Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) or through the purchase of guarantees of origin (GOs).
• Public communication evolved from claiming 'carbon neutrality' to 'climate positive' and finally to a more nuanced approach, though inconsistencies remain between public messaging and technical documentation.
• The purchase of carbon credits is opaque; while an investment of 15 million euros is mentioned, there is little detail on the specific projects funded or their location, and the price per tonne is significantly lower than EU ETS prices.
• Many official sponsors, including Air France, AccorHotels, and ArcelorMittal, are identified as having climate trajectories incompatible with the Paris Agreement, with some aligned with warming of 3°C to 4.5°C.
• The report proposes a radical new model for future Olympics to align with a 1.5°C trajectory, suggesting the distribution of events across multiple countries to reduce the need for massive infrastructure and international flights.

APA

Dugast, C., Crepel, A., de Rosbo, G. K., Joly, A., Faecks, B., & Dufrasne, G. (2024). Viser le vert. Carbon Market Watch. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Viser-le-vert-Olympics-report.pdf

Chicago

Dugast, Cesar, Antoine Crepel, Guillaume Kerlero de Rosbo, Alexandre Joly, Benja Faecks, and Gilles Dufrasne. Viser le vert. Carbon Market Watch, 2024. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Viser-le-vert-Olympics-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dugast |first1=Cesar |last2=Crepel |first2=Antoine |last3=de Rosbo |first3=Guillaume Kerlero |last4=Joly |first4=Alexandre |last5=Faecks |first5=Benja |last6=Dufrasne |first6=Gilles |title=Viser le vert |publisher=Carbon Market Watch |date=April 2024 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Viser-le-vert-Olympics-report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dugast2024viser, author = {Dugast, Cesar and Crepel, Antoine and de Rosbo, Guillaume Kerlero and Joly, Alexandre and Faecks, Benja and Dufrasne, Gilles}, title = {{Viser le vert}}, institution = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2024}, month = apr, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Viser-le-vert-Olympics-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }