The World Cup will bring with it an unprecedented boom in infrastructure, development and tourism, but there will be a rather gaseous price to pay.
The World Cup will bring with it an unprecedented boom in infrastructure, development and tourism, but there will be a rather gaseous price to pay.
Tourists and football fans coming into the country will not only be contributing millions of euros and dollars to the economy but they will add more than two million tonnes of carbon dioxide to South Africa’s carbon footprint.
According to the Feasibility Study for a Carbon Neutral 2010 World Cup, the carbon footprint calculated for the event is around 2.75 million tonnes.
A carbon footprint, usually calculated according to the amounts of carbon dioxide generated is the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted by an individual, organisation or event through travel, electricity use and waste.
South Africa’s annual carbon dioxide emissions (when calculated in 2006) was just over 400-million tonnes. The recent study, which was commissioned by the South African and Norwegian governments, estimates that the carbon dioxide from this event will rise to around 900 000 tonnes, with a further
two-million tonnes resulting from fans travelling to South Africa.
The study also estimated that the carbon footprint would be eight times more than that of Germany during the 2006 World Cup due to the fact that most visitors will be travelling further and that our host cities lack eco-friendly systems of transport.
“For inter-city transport, distances between matches in South Africa are much greater than in Germany, and the lack of high-speed rail links means that most visitors will fly multiple times between matches, leading to much higher transport emissions,” the report said.
Transport emissions, the report added, would account for 67% of the footprint. While the statistics are alarming, the Fifa Local Organising Committee (LOC) insists that measures to curb damage to the environment have been put in place by the Department of Environmental Affairs with help from the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
The department has adopted a programme called Green Goal started after the last World Cup in Germany aimed at promoting projects that will make the tournament more environmentally friendly.
These projects include waterless urinals at stadiums, pitch irrigation systems that use non-drinkable water and tree-planting initiatives in parts of the Eastern Cape.
During the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December last year, Unep and GEF pledged a $1-million funding package geared towards ensuring that sustainable climate change in the country takes place.
The GEF is also supporting responsible tourism with an initiative called Green Passport, which will be given to visitors during the World Cup, providing tips on the most eco-friendly methods of travel. GEF CEO and Chairperson Monique Barbut said: “The GEF is committed to acting locally for global impact.
This project aims to leave an environmental legacy in South Africa long after the last whistle blows.” Along with these campaigns, most of the teams that have qualified for the World Cup have agreed to offset the emissions caused by travelling to South Africa by contributing to environmental initiatives in the country.
The England Football Association will contribute about £5 000 towards bringing solar panels to poor communities to offset the carbon footprint flying 48 footballers and officials from London to Johannesburg will cause.
Despite these attempts at containing the environmental devastation the World Cup will bring, the impact on South Africa’s carbon footprint will still be extensive.
There is also the concern that once all the fans have left, South Africans will be left to bear the full brunt of damage to the environment on a local level.
