A climate contradiction at the heart of the Paris Games
How did an event meant to be the ‘greenest games ever’ become a billboard for big polluters, a recent report ‘Olympic Smoke Rings’ paints the picture.
The Olympic and Paralympic Games are the pinnacle of global sports, boasting a history that dates back to 776 BC. Over the centuries, the Games have endured natural disasters, cultural shifts, and even genocidal regimes. Now, however, their future is under threat from an unprecedented challenge: the climate crisis.
The Paris Games have acknowledged the risk that climate change poses to the future of sports and even promised to be the ‘greenest ever’ Olympics. As the city where the landmark UN Paris Agreement was forged, this pledge holds significant weight. Yet, despite this commitment, the Paris Games have failed to break with the polluting past of the Olympics by continuing to partner with high-carbon companies.
In ‘Olympic Smoke Rings’, campaigners from the Cool Down Network uncovered some alarming findings. Sponsorship deals with Toyota, ArcelorMittal, and Air France for the Paris Games will directly produce over 30 million tonnes of CO2e. To put this into perspective, that’s equivalent to the pollution from eight coal plants running for an entire year.
This issue is not unique to the Paris Games. Since 2004, the Olympics have been promoting some of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, along with numerous fossil-fuel dependent car manufacturers and airlines. Specifically, seven major oil and gas companies, seventeen car manufacturers, eight airlines, and even a private jet manufacturer have been sponsors.
The oil and gas companies alone are responsible for 5.5% of global emissions from 1988 to 2015. Meanwhile, the sponsor car companies produce and sell over 40% of the world’s cars, and the airlines transport around 325 million passengers annually.
Image: Toynocaⓡ
Toyota stands out as the largest polluter sponsor at the Paris Games. In 2023 alone, the company emitted 575 million tonnes of CO2e, surpassing even some of the biggest oil companies like BP. Their partnership with the Olympics will add another 29 million tonnes of CO2e to the atmosphere.
Toyota is also a seasoned practitioner of greenwashing. This year, they launched an 'electrified' campaign for their hybrid cars, misleading consumers who were seeking fully-electric vehicles. In reality, these hybrids only reduce emissions by an average of 21%.
Moreover, Toyota has actively lobbied to delay the transition to fully-electric vehicles. Following the EU's announcement of a 2035 phase-out date for fossil-fuel powered cars, Toyota used a private meeting with French President Macron to request an extension for the sale of hybrids in the EU.
Air France is similarly culpable. The airline has lobbied against climate action in the aviation industry, notably joining an alliance to oppose a proposed EU kerosene tax intended to fund sustainable travel. In December, the Advertising Standards Agency ruled against Air France for misleading customers with a campaign suggesting they could ‘travel better and sustainably’ with the airline.
ArcelorMittal, another Olympic sponsor, has used its influence to weaken climate policies and environmental regulations. The company has pushed for less stringent emissions trade regulations in the EU and advocated for the inclusion of blast furnaces without carbon capture technologies in the EU’s Green Steel classification system. Despite these actions, ArcelorMittal has accepted €3.5 billion in public subsidies for decarbonisation efforts. However, between 2021 and 2023, they funneled $11 billion to shareholders—22 times the amount they invested in decarbonisation.
Image: Stanford Research into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising
It may seem surprising now, but the Olympics used to advertise tobacco products heavily throughout most of the 20th century. Recognizing the health risks of smoking, the Olympics led the charge in banning tobacco ads years before other major sports bodies followed suit.
Now, the Games could once again take a pioneering role by severing its sponsorship ties with the polluting industries that are undermining the future of the Olympics and our planet.