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First Post
10-07-2025
- Sport
- First Post
Explained: Why FIFA World Cup 2026 could be the ‘most climate-damaging' ever
The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be the biggest in the tournament's history, but also potentially the most climate-damaging. With expanded teams, vast travel distances, and heavy infrastructure demands, environmental experts are sounding the alarm. read more The FIFA World Cup 2026, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, will be 'the most climate-damaging' in the history of the tournament, a new study has claimed. As per the Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR), the 48-team expanded World Cup will generate more than nine million tonnes of carbon dioxide. 'Driven by a high reliance on air travel and a significant increase in the quantity of matches,' said the report, which added that the carbon emissions during the FIFA World Cup 2026 will be equivalent to 'nearly 6.5 million average British cars driven for an entire year.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD FIFA World Cup 2026 to emit 9 million tonnes of CO2e The SGR's report was created in collaboration with the Environmental Defence Fund and the Sport for Climate Action Network. The report says that the total carbon emission during the FIFA World Cup 2026 will be almost double the average for the last four World Cup finals. It would also be significantly more than the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which resulted in an emission of 5.25 million tonnes of CO2e. FIFA has not yet reacted to the report, but it has a history of making tall claims and falling flat on them. It had in past announced that the Qatar World Cup would be the first 'fully carbon-neutral World Cup,' but those claims have since been challenged by a Swiss advertising regulator, which labelled them as 'unsubstantiated claims.' Earlier, the US, Canada and Mexico, the hosts for the 2026 World Cup, had estimated an emission of 3.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide during the original bid. However, that estimate was only for a 32-team tournament. The next year's World Cup, however, has been expanded by 16 more teams. It will have 104 matches, 40 more than the Qatar World Cup. It should be noted that FIFA has claimed that it would reduce its emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2040.
Indian Express
09-07-2025
- Science
- Indian Express
2026 FIFA World Cup to be most climate-damaging ever, says report
A scientific journal has released a report stating that next year's Fifa World Cup is set to be the most climate-harming ever in the 95-year history of the tournament. Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) have calculated the greenhouse gases that will likely emit in and around the tournament. The increase in teams from 32 to 48, as well as the size of the three host nations and the travel involved in all was a significant factor. The group claims that nine million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent will be generated 'driven by a high reliance on air travel and significant increase in the quantity of matches.' SGR also said in the report that this was almost double the average of the last four World Cup's and significantly above the 5.25 million tons of CO2e produced during the 2022 Qatar World Cup. The report was produced with Sport for Climate Action Network and the Environmental Defence Fund. Fifa has previously committed to achieving a fifty percent reduction in emissions by 2030 and then a net zero state by 2040. Fifa in the past has acknowledged the effect of football tournaments and said that it had devised various ways to bring their emissions down. 'On the environmental side, greenhouse gas emissions have been assessed and mitigated, waste has been substantially reduced and tonnes of material have been recycled and diverted from landfill, and stadium construction and operations have been certified according to green building standards,' Fifa has said in the past. But their efforts and figures have been questioned, as was the case in 2023 when a Swiss regulator called the premier body of football out for making unsubstantiated claims. In the original bid, the three countries had claimed that 3.6 million tons would be the figure of CO2e. But that figure was made with 80 games in mind as the plans to expand the World Cup only came about later.
The Independent
09-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
World Cup pollution will be ‘equivalent to 6.5m cars driven for a year', claims report
New research by environmentalists suggests that next year's World Cup, in the United States, Canada and Mexico, will be 'the most climate-damaging' in the history of the tournament. With Fifa expanding the 2026 World Cup from 32 to 48 teams, Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) has calculated that the greenhouse gas emissions generated by the tournament will almost double the average carbon dioxide equivalent from the last four World Cup finals. This, claims the report, is driven by the 'high reliance on air travel and significant increase in the quantity of matches,' adding that the predicted 2026 total is "equivalent to nearly 6.5 million average British cars being driven for an entire year." The figures will make it the most polluting tournament ever staged, with its nine million tonnes of CO2e being significantly higher than the 5.25 million tonnes generated by Qatar 2022. The number of matches played, in what is the first tournament to be held across an entire continent, will increase by more than 60 per cent from 64 to 104 and, while they will be played in existing stadia, those CO2e figures are much higher than initial estimates. The report was conducted in collaboration with the Environmental Defence Fund, and the Sport for Climate Action Network. Fifa has previously committed to reducing emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 and to reaching net-zero by 2040. It has said that is has developed and implemented sustainability strategies that have allowed it "to be aware of its impact and take adequate action". "As a result, on the environmental side, greenhouse gas emissions have been assessed and mitigated, waste has been substantially reduced and tonnes of material have been recycled and diverted from landfill, and stadium construction and operations have been certified according to green building standards," Fifa has claimed. However, a Swiss regulator ruled in 2023 that the governing body made "unsubstantiated claims" about the reduced environmental impact of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
BBC News
08-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
World Cup 2026 'most polluting ever' claims report
Next year's Fifa World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico is set to be "the most climate-damaging" in the tournament's history, according to new research by for Global Responsibility (SGR) has calculated the greenhouse gas emissions attributable to the tournament, which has been expanded from 32 to 48 teams."Driven by a high reliance on air travel and significant increase in the quantity of matches" the campaign group claims the expanded 2026 World Cup will generate more than nine million tonnes of carbon dioxide says that is almost double the average for the last four World Cup finals, and significantly more than Qatar 2022, which is estimated to have had a footprint of up to 5.25 million tonnes of says the predicted 2026 total is "equivalent to nearly 6.5 million average British cars being driven for an entire year" - and will make it the most polluting tournament ever year's World Cup will be the first to be held across an entire continent and have 40 more matches (104) than before, although all will be played at existing their original bid book, the three prospective host nations for the 2026 tournament revealed a preliminary estimate of 3.6 million tonnes of CO2e, although at that stage it was expected to stage just 80 matches. They also said the bid "hopes the 2026 World Cup will establish new standards for environmental sustainability in sport and deliver measurable environmental benefits".Fifa has been approached for comment. The world governing body has previously committed to reducing emissions by 50% by 2030 and to reaching net-zero by has said that is has developed and implemented sustainability strategies that have allowed it "to be aware of its impact and take adequate action"."As a result, on the environmental side, greenhouse gas emissions have been assessed and mitigated, waste has been substantially reduced and tonnes of material have been recycled and diverted from landfill, and stadium construction and operations have been certified according to green building standards," Fifa has 2023, a Swiss regulator ruled that the governing body made "unsubstantiated claims" about the reduced environmental impact of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Fifa had said that the tournament would be the first "fully carbon-neutral World Cup", but advertising regulator the Swiss Fairness Commission (SLK) upheld complaints from five European nations.
India Today
07-07-2025
- Science
- India Today
This blast outside Solar System was so powerful Earth's atmosphere vibrated
A cosmic explosion so intense it vibrated Earth's atmosphere and briefly outshone every star in the sky led to astronomers rewrite what we knew about the universe's most powerful December 27, 2004, a flash of high-energy light from across the Milky Way was detected by satellites and telescopes source: a 'giant flare' from a magnetar, an exotic, ultra-magnetic neutron star, known as SGR 1806-20, located about 50,000 light-years away in the constellation The burst was so bright that it bounced off the Moon and illuminated Earth's upper atmosphere, surpassing the brightness of a full moon for a fraction of a second.'This might be a once-in-a-lifetime event for astronomers, as well as for the neutron star,' said Dr. David Palmer of Los Alamos National Laboratory, who led a team that analysed the data from NASA's Swift satellite. 'We knew of only two other giant flares in the 35 years before the signal, and the December 2004 event was one hundred times more powerful'. The flare's energy output was staggering: in just over a tenth of a second, the magnetar released more energy than the Sun emits in 1,50,000 years. The gamma rays ionised Earth's upper atmosphere, briefly expanding the ionosphere and demonstrating the direct impact such distant cosmic phenomena can have on our Are Magnetars?Magnetars are the collapsed cores of massive stars that exploded as supernovae. Though only about 15 miles in diameter, these neutron stars possess magnetic fields trillions of times stronger than Earth's, making them the most magnetic objects their magnetic fields 'snap,' releasing bursts of X-rays and gamma rays—sometimes culminating in rare, catastrophic giant flares like the 2004 sheer power of the SGR 1806-20 flare led scientists to ponder whether similar, closer eruptions could have triggered mass extinctions on Earth in the distant past. If such a blast occurred within 10 light-years, it could devastate the ozone layer and threaten life. International teams continue to analyse data from radio telescopes and satellites. (Photo: Getty) Moreover, this event prompted astronomers to reconsider the origins of some short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), previously thought to be from distant black hole-forming evidence now suggests that some could be from magnetar flares in nearby galaxies, blurring the lines between different types of cosmic explosions.A New Era in High-Energy AstronomyThe 2004 flare, and a similar event detected on April 15, 2020, from a magnetar in a neighbouring galaxy, confirm that these rare eruptions are not confined to our Milky Way. advertisementInternational teams continue to analyse data from radio telescopes and satellites, with a multitude of scientific papers the universe reveals its most violent secrets, astronomers are reminded that even the most distant stars can leave a mark, sometimes, quite literally, on our own world.- EndsMust Watch
