'Cardboard beds and tables made from shuttlecocks' - greenest Olympics ever?

The organising committee of Paris 2024 has vowed to make it nan greenest Games successful Olympic history, pinch half nan c footprint of London 2012 and Rio 2016.

London 2012 had an estimated c footprint of 3.3m tonnes, while Rio 2016 had a full estimated footprint of 3.6m tonnes of carbon.

The 2024 Games will beryllium held successful nan aforesaid metropolis wherever world leaders met successful 2015 to sign a number of commitments to forestall world temperatures rising by much than 1.5C and location will beryllium tons of attraction connected sustainability efforts.

From tables made retired of shuttlecocks to plant-based menus, Paris 2024 person announced a number of initiatives that they declare will thief them scope their targets.

In an exclusive interview, Thomas Bach, president of nan International Olympic Committee (IOC), told BBC Sport that sustainability is an rumor "very close" to his heart.

Bach said that ambiance alteration represents an "extremely superior threat, not only for sport, but for each our lives," adding, "this is why, pinch our Olympic schedule reforms, we undertook to tackle these issues by focusing connected reducing our footprint."

Before London 2012, six caller stadiums were built. Rio built 10 imperishable caller sites and 7 impermanent ones.

Of nan 35 stadiums lodging events astatine Paris 2014, only 2 will beryllium caller and purpose-built – an aquatics centre and an arena for badminton and rhythmic gymnastics.

The organisers declare these will beryllium built utilizing "low-carbon building methods". The aquatic centre will see seats made from "recycled section integrative waste", pinch wood utilized passim construction.

The beds successful nan athletes’ colony astatine Tokyo 2020 were constructed utilizing recycled cardboard and went viral erstwhile American runner Paul Chelimo claimed connected societal media they were "aimed astatine avoiding intimacy among athletes" because they would illness nether nan weight of much than 1 person.

That declare was debunked and nan aforesaid shaper is besides providing nan beds for Paris 2024.

Also successful nan athletes' area, location will beryllium "coffee tables made from recycled shuttlecocks, poufs from parachute canvas and chairs from recycled vessel tops", according to organisers.

As good arsenic promising to double nan proportionality of plant-based ingredients disposable to spectators and nan workforce compared to London 2012 and Rio 2016, nan organising committee for nan Games has besides promised to root 80 per cent of ingredients from "local agriculture production" successful bid to trim transport.

Place de la Concorde, which will big municipality sports, will exclusively service vegetarian food.

With a nutrient civilization synonymous pinch beef bourguignon and steak tartare, nan move towards plant-based nutrient is simply a important one.

At erstwhile Games, immoderate stadiums had to trust connected diesel generators for power. Paris organisers person alternatively promised to attraction connected connecting stadiums to nan nationalist energy network. Those connections will besides past beyond nan Games.

The Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 recovered successful a study pursuing those Games that nan Olympic Broadcasting Service (OBS) had engaged successful "unnecessary deployment of generators", external because of "gross overestimates of power consumption".

Georgina Grenon, biology excellence head for Paris 2024 said precocious that astatine London 2012, 4 cardinal litres of diesel were burned conscionable for energy purposes.

A study by University of Portsmouth scientists Rings of Fire, external has warned astir nan effects of utmost power connected athletes. It recovered that mean July and August temperatures had accrued by 2.4°C and 2.7°C respectively complete nan 100 years since nan Olympics was past held successful France successful 1924.

The Olympic colony was primitively designed to beryllium free of aerial conditioning, but successful ray of concerns astir heat, 2,500 impermanent cooling units will now beryllium fitted.

There were doubts arsenic to whether triathlon and unfastened h2o swimming events could beryllium held successful nan River Seine aft it was revealed past period it had grounded h2o value tests.

However, past week Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and different members of nan Paris Olympic committee swam successful nan river to beryllium it was safe.

The biggest situation to Paris gathering nan targets is apt to travel from spectator travel, which tin relationship for astir 80% of a sporting event's emissions.

At London 2012 organisers group a target of trading 75% of tickets to UK fans.

By contrast, this year's Olympics will beryllium nan first wherever tickets person been sold centrally to each fans worldwide astatine nan aforesaid time, which could consequence successful greater numbers of world fans flying to nan Games.

Bach told BBC Sport nan Games must equilibrium considerations astir c simplification against "what awesome effect nan Games person pinch respect to peace, pinch respect to health, pinch respect to bringing nan full world together".

In 2023, France banned short-haul flights wherever train alternatives exist.

Coca Cola, nan longest-standing partner of nan Olympics, was named nan world's starring integrative polluter, external successful a caller study by non-governmental organisation Break Free From Plastic.

Toyota has committed to providing 500 hydrogen-fuel compartment vehicles to "the Olympic and Paralympic family", pinch zero tailpipe emissions. However, a group of scientists, academics and engineers person penned an unfastened missive to nan IOC, external arguing that hydrogen vehicles require 3 times much energy than artillery electrical vehicles.

Bach told BBC Sport that nan usage of EV, hybrid and hydrogen-powered vehicles wrong nan fleet for Paris 2024 sent "a very beardown awesome pinch respect to reducing nan footprint of nan Games".

He added that Coca Cola will usage "a beverage fountain" for catering astatine nan Games, which "will trim their integrative utilized by 50%".

The Games scheme to service beverages successful reusable integrative packaging astatine scale. However, French newspaper Le Monde has reported, external that 40% of drinks will still beryllium served successful single-use integrative bottles.

More than 100 athletes person signed an unfastened letter, external calling connected Coca Cola and Pepsi to extremity trading single-use integrative bottles and beforehand reusable products.