Fireworks at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic opening ceremony, which was held in a nearly empty 68,000-seat stadium designed by Kengo Kuma. The progress made by such programs is, by most measures, far slower than the pace of change needed to mitigate the effects of climate change. Industries that have used the market system to offset negative environmental impacts have done little, if anything, to actually reduce emissions through more radical operational adjustments. The carbon credit system, though, has been roundly criticized by climate scientists and environmental activists for generating a false sense of accomplishment and security. According to Masako Konishi of the World Wildlife Fund Japan, who sat on the sustainability committee for the Tokyo Olympics, the credits are worth about 150 percent of the total carbon emissions for the games, rendering them virtually carbon negative. (Wikimedia Commons)įor the 2020 Summer Olympics, organizers took steps with the goal of making the games the most sustainable in modern history, including through the collection of 4.38 million tonnes worth of carbon credits to offset emissions generated over the course of the event. An aerial view of various venues for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the environmental impact of each set of games is typically enormous.

Today, cities hosting the Olympic games are generally expected to shell out enormous sums of cash, not only to construct large-capacity stadiums and world-class athletic facilities, but also on vast accommodations for team and media personnel, elaborate security apparatuses, marketing campaigns, and intricate infrastructure systems to support the influx of athletes, support staff, media crews, and spectators from across the world.

Ukraine olympic games tokyo 2020