Although the Paris 2024 Olympic Games have taken an exemplary approach to construction, reusing venues is not enough to make the games truly sustainable, argues Carbon Market Watch's Benja Faecks as part of our Olympic Impact series.
By relying mainly on existing infrastructure and setting ambitious carbon budgets for any new builds, this year's Olympics have dramatically reduced construction-related emissions compared to previous editions.
But this doesn't address the fundamental issue with the games according to Faecks, who is an expert on global carbon markets at non-profit watchdog Carbon Market Watch.
"The things they did well, they really did well ? but it's not enough to really make the Olympic Games as sustainable as they could be," she told Dezeen. "The elephant in the room is still the size of the event and the spectators." "It's the hardest thing to solve," she added. "And that probably will never be tackled if you keep having the games in one single location."
Event surpasses national green building codes
Paris 2024 is working to cut its emissions by 50 per cent compared to London 2012 and Rio 2016, as it strives to become the first Olympic Games in line with the Paris Agreement goal of halving global emissions by 2030.
And the organisers have made construction the primary tool in their carbon-slashing arsenal.
In previous editions, new buildings generally accounted for a major chunk of emissions, generating 60 per cent of...