Despite Greece's promises of making the 2004 Olympics the greenest ever - they are even less environmentally friendly than the Sydney Olympics
We all heard the promises, so how come the Athens Games make
few, if any, concessions to environmental protection and don't
highlight any green solutions?
When Athens was still a candidate city, the official position of
the Greek authorities was clear and straightforward, according to
its bid the "Olympic Games are a challenge as well as an
opportunity for the broad implementation of programs and actions
which are environmentally friendly and in accordance to the
principles of sustainable development...projects will be realized
with the use of environmentally friendly technologies and
materials, and this will be a prerequisite in all relevant
tenders."
Such promises conjure up images of solar panels, recycled and
non-toxic building materials however it seems they were just pipe
dreams. With the exception of public transport, which has shown
impressive improvements due to the Olympics, the environmental
record of the Athens Olympic Games is very poor. Athens will undo
much of the progress on environmental issues made for Sydney
2000.
Our
campaign
for the Sydney Games to be the first green games was
instrumental in ensuring the 2000 Games
showcased and promoted solutions to environmental problems. The
solar powered athletes village was the world's largest solar suburb
and was later sold as public housing. Solar powered venues meant
lower costs and less global warming pollution. The reduction in use
of PVC plastic in buildings showed that there are practical
alternatives to this poison plastic.
One of our major victories was the Coke Spotlight campaign,
which saw Olympic sponsor Coca-Cola meet our demands for a new
refrigeration policy to reduce its impact on global climate change.
The online campaign included downloadable stickers and letters to
Coke. Only one month after the website went live, Coca-Cola
committed to phasing in climate friendly refrigeration. We also
targeted Unilever and McDonald's as part of our
Greenfreeze campaign launched back in 1992. Instead of using
global warming chemicals, Greenfreeze fridges use natural gases so
avoids both depleting the ozone layer and fuelling global
warming.
One of the few environmental bright spots of Athens - the fact
that Olympic sponsors, Coca Cola, McDonald's, Unilever, have
now committed to using Greenfreeze is down more to our campaign
and pressure from online activists than the Athens Games
organisers.
Environmental failings
So the lack of green commitment in Athens is even more shocking.
Green energy is the most striking failure for the Athens Olympics.
It was the intention that all electricity used by related premises
and users during the Olympics in 2004 should be generated by
renewables. For a country that markets it self as a country of
endless sunshine, solar energy for the games shouldn't be so
difficult. But green energy at the Games is close to zero.
"This list of failures in the environmental performance of the
Athens 2004 Olympic Games shows that when there is no strong
political will, failures will override wins. Athens is well behind
Sydney regarding the environmental performance of the Games. The
distance from environmental excellence and sustainability is so big
that Athens is disqualified from this race," said Nikos
Charalambides of Greenpeace Greece.
The International Olympics Committee (IOC) has the
responsibility to ensure the Olympic Games have a minimum impact on
the environment and leave a positive legacy for those hosting the
Games. The Greek Government had the power, money and time to set
the standards and ensure that the Green Olympics become a
reality.
However, they have proven themselves short sighted and have
aimed for the absolute minimum. Public authorities have shown a
high level of indifference, incompetence and lack of action. The
world is the loser at these games.
Find out more:
Read our briefing on the short falling of the Athens Olympic
Games:
Green - the missing link
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