Beijing Olympics Get Big Green Tick

18 February 2009 - The Beijing Olympics met if not exceeded many of its pledges on the environment, according to an assessment by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

From reducing air pollution to big investments in public transport and renewable energies, the organizers made major efforts to ensure that the 2008 Games marked a step forward in terms of an eco-friendly mass spectator sporting event.

These are some of the conclusions of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games - Final Environmental Assessment, which was released on 18 February during the UNEP Governing Council meeting.

The report underlines that more could have been done on engaging with Non-Governmental Organizations and cutting the Olympic and Paralympic Games' carbon footprint.

But overall the UNEP assessment, conducted by independently appointed assessors, concludes that Beijing raised the environmental bar and the Games left a lasting legacy for the city.

These achievements are all the more impressive given that the Games were held in a rapidly developing city in a country facing multiple development challenges in the first decade of the 21st century.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director who attended the summer Olympics, said: "The public attention of the world focused on the Beijing Games and whether the authorities could pull off a landmark event on many fronts including the environment. They have fulfilled the promise of a Green Games in many areas including public transport, waste treatment and green Olympic venues."

The challenge now facing Beijing is how to consolidate the achievements of the Games and turn them into a green legacy in the long term. UNEP's assessment of Beijing's achievements and challenges also provides key recommendations for the organizers of the Games in Vancouver, London and Sochi - as well as other mass sporting events - as they strive to realize their goals and set the environmental bar ever higher.

Source: UNEP

LINK :
Beijing 2008