Of all the decisions Paris Olympics organisers made about where to hold each sport, sending surfing competitions to the other side of the world – to the Pacific waters of Tahiti – provoked the strongest reactions. Tahitians and others railed against the building of a viewing tower on Teahupo’o reef amid fears it would damage marine life. But organisers say it was not just the world-class waves that lured them to the French territory 16,000km (10,000 miles) away.
Tahiti’s surfing reef is too far offshore for fans to see the action clearly from the beach, so organisers are calculating that most will watch on television instead of taking flights – which are a major source of carbon emissions. And fewer spectators, they say, requires little new construction – another significant source of emissions. “We actually did the maths,” says Georgina Grenon, director of environmental excellence for the Paris Games.
“There was less impact in Tahiti compared to other metropolitan areas.” Tahiti’s selection provides a window into the approach by Games organisers to hitting their goal of reducing emissions, the driver of climate change. It also underscores an inherent tension in the drive for sustainability: there are trade-offs, and reducing emissions does not necessarily mean preserving the environment.
The organisers’ goal is to limit emissions to 1.58 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent for the Games, which will take place from July 26 to August 11, and the Paral.