Climate change is putting pressure on major sporting events. This is how Tokyo 2020 is rising to the challenge
With less than a year until Tokyo 2020, the Japanese capital is mobilizing itself to prove that the Olympics can be sustainably run – and bracing itself for hot conditions for athletes and spectators
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f elite athletes are expected to perform under pressure, the same now applies to the organizers of the Olympic Games. With growing scrutiny of the Games’ environmental record, Tokyo 2020 has the responsibility of proving the notoriously resource-hungry event can be sustainably run.
“Environmental sustainability is a key factor in both our planning and actual Games operations,” said Tsunekazu Takeda, president of the Japanese Olympic Committee. “These will be included in all aspects from construction, transportation and energy sources right through to ensuring minimal waste.”
In line with the UN SDGs, the Tokyo Organising Committee last year announced it would work “towards” making the 2020 edition the first carbon-neutral Olympics. “What’s important is being able to ascertain the GHGs we ourselves are emitting, and finding ways to avoid or reduce them,” said Yuki Arata, senior director of sustainability.
On paper, what the organizers have dubbed the “Green Games” are already projected to generate less CO2 – 2.93 million metric tons – than the two previous editions, in Rio de Janeiro (3.56 million) and London (3.45 million). The Tokyo team have minimised these with a greater emphasis on using existing venues, rather than building new ones: 25 out of 43 were already in place, producing a saving of 80,000 metric tons of CO2.
All electricity at competition venues and the athletes’ village is expected to be generated from renewable sources, such as solar power, biogas and surplus heat from waste facilities.
The organizers aim to reuse or recycle 99% of materials and goods obtained for the games, starting with the approximately 5,000 medals handed out to competitors, which have been produced from precious metals recovered from smartphones and other electronic devices.
Of course, the necessity of venue construction, as well as flying in thousands of athletes, staff and officials, and millions of spectators, still create a huge mass of unavoidable emissions. These will be offset by being absorbed into Tokyo’s wider cap-and-trade programme.
Tokyo 2020’s green aspirations must overcome wider scepticism towards the Olympic Games as a supra-national entity that inevitably exacts a hefty financial and environmental toll on its host city. Already, the Japanese capital’s costs have skyrocketed to an estimated $25bn, nearly four times the $7.3bn projected during its 2013 bid.
The organisers stress that the eight new permanent venues, including Kengo Kuma’s $1.26bn New National Stadium, will become community amenities after the games. The Olympic facilities overall are intended to provide a model of sustainable urban development for Tokyo’s future.
Robert Livingstone, journalist and founder of Gamesbid.com, believes, at least in the case of its flagship venue, Tokyo will avoid the “white elephant” other Olympics have saddled their host cities with. “The new Olympic stadium is something they’ve wanted for years. They had something more elaborate planned, then they cut it back a bit. It’s something they’re definitely going to use,” he said.
If the city is doing its utmost not to contribute to climate change, it may have no choice but to grapple with its consequences during the games themselves. Tokyo’s decision to host in July and August has been called into question after the 2018 heatwave in which temperatures reached a record 41.1C in Japan. The summer months regularly see the country experience the kind of high humidity levels – touching 80% – that could endanger athletes’ health and safety.
The timings of certain outdoor events have been shifted to avoid extreme heat: the marathons will begin at 6am and the men’s 50km race at 5.30am, with the triathlon, rugby sevens and mountain biking also to be moved.
The city government is coating 136km of roads with a special reflective material to reduce surface temperatures and are trying to increase tree cover to provide shade; it has promised 537 hectares of new green space in total. Misting stations and air-conditioned tents will also be provided, but games delivery officer Hidemasa Nakamura has admitted that there are limits to these measures. “We cannot control the climate. We must deal with it based on facts and reality. Even creating shadows or mist, it’s difficult to cover the entire area.”
As the world climate heats, the Olympic Games are being called on to set the pace outside of the traditional sporting arena. Ultimately, many warn, this may mean the International Olympic Committee itself may need to adapt to make the environment a priority.
“Sustainability is a nice-sounding word, but the IOC must change its structure to truly address the problem,” said Andrew Zimbalist, author of Rio 2016: Olympic Myths, Hard Realities. “For instance, having its 100-odd voting members who have no technical background in environmental science make the decision on hosting is a poor way to demonstrate true commitment to sustainability.”
The ideas presented in this article aim to inspire adaptation action – they are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Global Center on Adaptation.
