From our Special Envoy in Doha,
Few streets allow easy crossing of pedestrians in Doha. Most often, you have to be patient, wait five minutes and run when the light turns green, because it never stays green for long. One place escapes this rule: Msheireb, in the center of the capital. A historic area transformed into an eco-district in the light of the 2022 World Cup. The ultimate in sustainability, some even speak of it as “the greenest city in the world”: the 35-hectare project had received the World Architecture Future Prize at its presentation in 2012.
It must be said that Downtown Msheireb ticks all the boxes. Solar panels, shaded streets, LEED gold and platinum level buildings – certification ensuring that the contractor and designers have made the necessary efforts to reduce the ecological footprint during and after the design of an infrastructure. But also solar panels, a pedestrian street of 700 meters, a non-potable water supply system for the toilets or shaded areas and a few trees to regulate extreme temperatures. A rewarding line inevitably welcome in a CV overpolluted with exhaust pipes of SUVs in freedom three streets away.
Marcel Desailly as the muse of greenwashing
The effort remains marginal, because Qatar remains the first country in the world to “celebrate” its overshoot day (February 10 for 2022) and will not have been able to silence the critics before its World Cup, which it promises “neutral in carbon”. Objective shared by FIFA, which undertook, during COP26 in Scotland, to halve its CO2 emissions by 2030.
“We recognize the urgent importance of respecting the Paris agreements to accelerate the change necessary to achieve neutrality in greenhouse gas emissions in the second half of the 21st century”, declared the FIFA Secretary General, Fatma Samoura.
Since it is necessary to act quickly, the supreme body of football has pulled out all the stops: Marcel Desailly in person. Since the start of the World Cup, the 1998 world champion has been giving a lesson in selective sorting on the screens of Qatar’s stadiums. By the way, we know it by heart. It goes something like, “Put all recyclables in the blue bin and the rest in the one with a black label. All of this is part of an approach called “Save The Planet”. A somewhat pretentious name for an action summed up in an advertising spot, a small flag on the lawn at the start of the match and a green armband for the captains (apparently less disturbing than the rainbow).
This campaign can be associated with another FIFA pledge at COP26, to “help educate fans about climate change and encourage them to play their part in protecting the planet and the beautiful game.” just play, rather. Before the World Cup, the Infantino gang launched a contest on the theme of fan engagement, the only condition of which was to read “information on climate change” and then hope to be drawn. The key: a voucher of 900 Qatari rials (235 euros) to be exchanged in official FIFA retail stores. A very curious way to raise awareness.
Docked cruise ships as hotels
If the superfluous initiatives of the international football federation and the Supreme Organizing Committee of the World Cup can be funny, they enter into a global logic of greenwashing, the pillar of which remains this story of carbon neutrality of the event.
According to FIFA’s calculations, the 2022 World Cup will be responsible for the emission of 3.6 million tonnes of CO2 (MtCO2eq) into the atmosphere. This implies that the organizers must buy 3.6 million carbon credits to respect their commitment. But we will come back to it.
Among the main program categories of CDM 2022 are:
- 51.7% of emissions from travel
- 20.1% accommodation
- 18% of the construction of permanent sites
- 4.5% of temporary construction
- 1.1% logistics
- remaining 5.7% assigned to logistics, food and beverages.
The organizers also gargle about certain advantages that this World Cup in Qatar would present, self-satisfaction summed up into a “sustainability map”. Among them, the proximity between the stadiums and the assurance that the supporters will take “the metro rather than the plane”. We are indeed delighted to meet supporters from all walks of life in the Doha trains, but we still came across a good number of them at the international airport.
Due to a lack of space in the small emirate, many spectators crèche in neighboring countries and in fact use air transport. And what about the artificial means to create additional living space in the Qatari capital, such as the three 5,000-seat cruise ships that dock in the bay?
The case of Stade 974
Another argument put forward to praise the sustainable nature of the competition, the second life of the World Cup stadiums. With in mind, the famous stadium 974, for the 974 containers that compose it, dismountable and remountable elsewhere. A seemingly virtuous example. But in a report written to the sulphate, the NGO Carbon Market Watch recalls that “the final footprint associated with the construction of stadium 974 will depend on how many times and where it is reassembled. For example, if the stadium is moved only once, and to a remote location (>7000 km of transport), then the construction of two stadiums would probably have had less impact. »
Data, the report tells us, is excluded from FIFA’s estimates for the carbon footprint of its World Cup. As well as the future dismantling and transport of the 200,000 permanent seats and the works which will aim to give a second life to the stadiums (Al Bayt transformed into a mall, Lusail into botanical gardens, etc.). One example among many others that lead NGOs to reestimate the real weight of the 2022 World Cup at 5 to 6 million tonnes of CO2.
The calculations are not good, Gianni
Carbon neutrality is also a question. One, because the organizing committee of the World Cup has created its own organization for issuing carbon credits: the Global Carbon Council (“global carbon council”, GCC). The latter allows Qatar to dodge recognized certifiers on international markets and, in a way, to set its rules. The mission of the GCC is to offset half of the CDM 2022 emissions, FIFA the other half. Two, is surprised Carbon MarketWatch” How [la FIFA peut-elle avoir déjà fixé ses objectifs pour atteindre la neutralité carbone] given that offsetting the emissions of an event can only be fully achieved when the actual footprint of that event has been established? »
In other words, this calculation could only take place after the World Cup. In France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands, NGOs have filed a complaint with the Advertising Ethics Jury to denounce FIFA’s misleading advertisements in terms of carbon neutrality.
A final story straight out of the oven that will delight conservationists. According The Times, Qatar says it is ready to host the 2036 Olympics. The heat? Not even afraid. The emirate already has a new genius idea: to air-condition the streets of Doha during the marathon events. Except in the streets of Msheireb, of course. It will always be a win.