<p>Experts have cautioned that FIFA’s intention to stage the 2030 World Cup in six nations with spectators travelling to more than 100 matches would raise the tournament’s carbon footprint and is in conflict with the soccer governing body’s climate pledges.</p>
<p>Spain, Portugal, and Morocco will host the 2030 World Cup, but FIFA also announced this week that three matches would be held in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay to commemorate the tournament’s 100th anniversary.<img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-230160″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/theindiaprint.com-doctorsshut-down-a-6-year-olds-half-brain-to-treat-a-rare-disease-download-2023-10.jpg” alt=”theindiaprint.com doctorsshut down a 6 year olds half brain to treat a rare disease download 2023 10″ width=”1265″ height=”842″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/theindiaprint.com-doctorsshut-down-a-6-year-olds-half-brain-to-treat-a-rare-disease-download-2023-10.jpg 275w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/theindiaprint.com-doctorsshut-down-a-6-year-olds-half-brain-to-treat-a-rare-disease-download-2023-10-150×100.jpg 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 1265px) 100vw, 1265px” title=”Experts say that spreading out the FIFA World Cup over six nations causes more environmental harm 3″></p>
<p>On June 8 and 9, 2030, the competition will play three games in South America before moving on to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, necessitating several transatlantic trips for both teams and spectators.</p>
<p>It stands in sharp contrast to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which featured just 32 nations and all 64 games were held in and around Doha at eight venues.</p>
<p>Sport ecologist Dr. Madeleine Orr, an associate professor at the University of Toronto whose study analyzes the effects of climate change on the sport sector, stated, “The big problem is that they’re continuously growing the event.”</p>
<p>“Every choice that expands the World Cup will result in an increase in the event’s carbon impact. It’s a tradeoff, and that is the unpleasant fact.</p>
<p>“You have economic growth, and as a consequence, your environmental impact grows… FIFA has said that they are taking the environment into consideration, yet all of their activities show otherwise.</p>
<p>FIFA said that they will take all necessary steps to minimize the World Cup’s environmental effect, and that 97% of the 2030 tournament would take place in three nations that were either bordering each other or were just a few kilometers apart.</p>
<p>According to FIFA, the tournament will be contested across 101 games in a footprint of nearby nations with good infrastructure and vast transportation options.</p>
<p>FIFA had stated their commitment to reducing carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2040.</p>
<p>However, a Swiss authority said in June that FIFA had misrepresented Qatar’s World Cup’s carbon neutrality and its decreased environmental effect.</p>
<p>FIFA cannot lessen the effects, according to Quentin Cuendet, who represented the Swiss Climate Alliance in their lawsuit against FIFA for “greenwashing” the 2022 World Cup together with the organization Avocates pour le Climat.</p>
<p>“The first reason is that most emissions at such large games, when fans travel from all over the globe, come from aircraft. FIFA cannot minimize this, according to Cuendet.</p>
<p>“About 80-85% of the overall emissions is too much. I fail to see how FIFA could promise to reduce those emissions in any way.</p>
<p>“The second reason is that FIFA said it offsets some of its emissions during the World Cup in Qatar.</p>
<p>We demonstrated throughout the hearings in Switzerland that FIFA was unable to demonstrate that the offsetting was successful and had a favorable impact on the World Cup’s emissions.</p>