Green activists warn that South Africa might be falling behind in limiting the carbon footprint of the 2010 Fifa World Cup and that this could leave a significant environmental legacy.
There are fears among environmentalists that the government and the local organisers have not been vocal enough concerning their efforts to green the event. And with just over 100 days left until the World Cup kicks off, some say it may be too little too late.
Greening projects have been identified for the World Cup but the department of water and environmental affairs is still in the process of confirming funding arrangements for them.
Albi Modise, chief director of communications for the department, maintains that all the projects, which include energy efficiency, renewable energy, waste management and general outreach and awareness, will be visible during and after the World Cup. These attempts, however, have not impressed environmentalists.
Earthlife Africa’s energy policy officer Tristan Taylor points out that many of the greening projects highlighted so far are actions that stadiums and bodies such as Fifa should already be doing anyway. ‘They’ll have to do a whole lot more for it to be a green World Cup,” he said.
When it comes to carbon offsetting, one project has been implemented so far and others are at the development phase. The department put out a call for carbon offset project proposals last November and has narrowed down the potential projects from 18 to four.
There are no details yet on what these projects entail as the department is still, at this late stage, in discussions with the project developers. Some environmentalists fear that when it comes to offsetting emissions there will be too strong an emphasis on tree-planting.
The WWF said it would like to see carbon offsets for this World Cup match the quality of those employed during the German World Cup, by meeting the requirements of the WWF-endorsed Gold Standard.
‘Only projects in renewable energy and energy efficiency that also clearly support sustainable development are eligible for carbon credits under this standard,” said Peet du Plooy, WWF trade and investment programme adviser.
‘I don’t know if we can do a huge amount at this late stage,” said Donald Gibson, Transnet director of sustainable development at the Gordon Institute of Business Science. ‘There has been no meaningful effort to get this done and to get it done early.”
Gibson said political will and financial support are essential to offset the emissions from the World Cup. Getting to carbon neutral was always going to be hard.
A report released late last year estimated the carbon footprint for the World Cup, excluding international travel, at 896 661 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), a carbon footprint eight times larger than the last World Cup in Germany. But once you factor in international travel, the number rockets to 2.75-million tCO2e, making it one of the biggest sport events by carbon emission.
Offsetting is an expensive affair and South Africa’s ability to green the World Cup will depend very much on how much money the organisers can drum up. Offsetting just the domestic carbon footprint could cost between $5.4-million and $9-million (R41-million and R69-million) according to the report.
So it’s not surprising the 2010 Fifa World Cup organising Committee South Africa has adjusted its expectations for the World Cup from ‘carbon neutral” to ‘carbon fair”.
‘When we started, we wanted to have a carbon neutral event but after we did the calculations we realised it would be an uphill battle,” said Rich Mkhondo, the committee’s chief communications officer. Mkhondo said the organisers hope to offset as much carbon as possible.
In a best-case scenario and with enough funds raised, they may go the ‘German route”, which is to offset all internal emissions as was done for the 2006 World Cup. No funds have been committed for offsets, although efforts are under way to offset the event’s carbon emissions.
‘A call is being made to companies and other interested parties to contribute in the offsets. We are also in discussions with Fifa in this regard,” Mkhondo said. Without the crucial funding required, organisers hope those involved in the Cup will come forward to offset their own emissions.
‘The offsetting of the carbon footprint is not the responsibility of the host country only,” said Modise. The department of water and environmental affairs is developing a web-based carbon calculator, which will enable travellers to calculate emissions from their air travel and will suggest ways for them to offset the emissions.
In addition the department wants to secure commitments from the 32 participating countries as well as Fifa to offset their carbon footprints, ‘an ongoing process”, Modise said. Whichever route is taken to offset emissions, environmentalists warn not to expect any quick fixes.
Even if the programmes get off the ground within the year, it could take 10 to 20 years to clear the slate of emissions garnered from the World Cup.
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