"PARIS — Of all the decisions Paris Olympics organizers made about where to hold each sport, sending surfing competitions to the other side of the world — in the Pacific waters of Tahiti — provoked the strongest reactions. Tahitians and others railed against the building of a new viewing tower on Teahupo’o reef because of fears it would hurt marine life.
But organizers say it wasn’t just the world-class waves that lured them to the French territory 16,000 kilometers (9,942 miles) away. Paris Olympic officials had set an ambitious target of halving their overall carbon footprint compared with the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Games.
Tahiti’s surfing reef is too far offshore for fans to see the action clearly from the beach, so organizers say they calculated that most would watch on television instead of taking flights, a major source of carbon emissions."
John Leicester and Peter Prengaman report for the Associated Press June 1, 2024.
SEE ALSO:
"Paris Wanted An AC-Free Olympics. Visiting Nations Had Other Plans." (Washington Post)
"How The Paris Olympics Is Going Green To Help Protect The Environment" (NBC 10 Boston)
"The Olympics Are Usually A Sustainability Disaster. Can Paris Be Different?" (Washington Post)
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