Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
CNN
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Qatar Airways’ chief executive has defended plans to operate more than 160 additional flights from the region to Doha and back visitors each day, which have been advertised for The first “carbon neutral” FIFA World Cup.
Qatar Airways announced on Thursday that it has partnered with regional carriers allow world cup ticket holders To fly into Doha and to neighboring countries for just one day. Climate advocates say the decision comes down to the sustainability goals of the tournament.
“Please don’t believe people who say only negative [things]”Akbar Al Baker told CNN’s Becky Anderson in an interview on Monday, saying he was confident the flights would take off.
,[We] There are airplanes that have far lower emissions than the normal aircraft most other airlines fly,” including long-haul flights.
He did not elaborate on how the planes’ emissions would be lower than others, but the airline’s website says it uses “one of the youngest fleets in the sky” and 70 fuel optimization programs. has been implemented. Aviation is a major contributor to human-caused climate change. Qatar’s economy is oil-based and has one of the highest per capita carbon footprints in the world.
Before Thursday’s announcement, organizers had estimated the carbon footprint for the tournament 3.6 million metric tons of CO2, of which more than half will come from travel supporters. Emissions from new daily flights from Dubai, Muscat, Riyadh, Jeddah and Kuwait will add to the current estimate.
Responding to CNN’s questions, FIFA said its last carbon footprint estimate was published in February 2021 and that actual differences would be addressed once the tournament is over.
Qatar has said it will offset emissions by “investing in green projects” – a common way for companies and people to cancel the impact of its footprint. Organizers have established a “Global Carbon Council” whose job is to “identify quality projects”.
However, climate experts is highlighted The limits of offsetting programs, such as tree planting, argue that they are overused and their impact is sometimes exaggerated, allowing for business-as-usual emissions from burning fossil fuels.
Karbonn Market Watch published a report on Tuesday Which said the World Cup’s carbon credit scheme supported projects with “low levels of environmental integrity” and issued only 130,000 credits out of the 1.8 million pledged so far. The World Cup is scheduled to start at the end of November.
The Carbon Market Watch report also claimed that FIFA’s estimated carbon emissions for the tournament have been greatly underestimated, criticizing the “choice of accounting approach”.
Commenting on the report, Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, which is responsible for the incident, said it was “speculative and wrong to draw conclusions” on its commitment to carbon neutrality.
“The methodology used to calculate the carbon-neutral commitment is best in practice and designed based on actual activity data after the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup,” said a statement sent in response to CNN’s questions. it was done.” “This will be published, and any discrepancies will be explained and offset.”
FIFA also responded to the report and defended its own accounting method, saying it is based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, a widely used standard.
It said it “did not mislead its stakeholders” and was “fully aware of the risks that mega-events pose to the economy, the natural environment, and people and communities.”
In a press release in September, Qatari organizers of the event said that one of the benefits of hosting the World Cup was the “brief nature” of their country. The shorter distance between stadiums will negate the need for domestic air travel by fans and reduce the tournament’s carbon footprint. It said that air travel “is recognized as one of the largest sources of carbon emissions in the world.”
But there are growing concerns that a small country with a population of less than 3 million will not be able to cope with that many fans. Flying spectators in and out a day would obviate the need for higher levels of accommodation.
Al Baker, however, said that it was always a plan for people to run extra flights just for the day.
“His Majesty the Emir always wanted to share the profits of this tournament with all his neighbours,” he said.
“This is possible because, first and foremost, we have good state-of-the-art facilities. They process people very quickly. We have also brought in mass transportation facilities, including the metro,” said Al Baker.