Paris 2024: The Gold Standard for Global Carbon-Neutral and Climate-Positive Event

Research from the University of New Brunswick in Canada shows that, on average, as much as 200 kg of carbon per day per person could be released when a global-scale event is held, hence why events are often criticized for their environmental toll. However, the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris is rewriting the playbook. For the first time in the game’s history, a strict carbon budget has been set—capping emissions at 1.5 million tonnes of CO2, less than half the average from previous editions. This became a binding planning tool that spans all emission scopes—direct, indirect, and even spectator travel. Together, they redefine environmental accountability in mega-event management.

THE AMO MODEL OF BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE MEGA-EVENT

Per the International Olympic Committee’s report on Paris 2024, central to the game’s carbon goal is its AMO model: Anticipate, Avoid, Mitigate, Offset, and Catalyse. Paris’ organizers are embedding sustainability at every stage of the Games’ lifecycle. Anticipating the number of attendees and the carbon level they could release, 95% of venues will be existing or temporary instead of building from scratch, thus avoiding unnecessary environmentally harmful construction. Regarding mitigation and offset, the “Aquatics Centre” exemplifies this shift; it will transform into one of France’s largest urban solar farms, featuring 5,000 sqm of photovoltaic roofing and timber-based low-carbon construction. When it comes to catalysts, crucial to the game is its circular procurement to spark a waste-conscious mindset and create a replicable model: materials are sourced with a reuse plan in mind, and modular designs ensure structures can be dismantled and repurposed. The idea is simple: nothing built should become obsolete, and nothing purchased should end up as waste.

THE NEW ERA OF CLIMATE-CONSCIOUS EVENTS IS HERE

The real legacy of the game may lie in how Paris 2024 operationalized climate ambition to serve as the model for all future events. By setting a carbon cap, embedding circularity, and aligning delivery with planetary boundaries, the game offers a replicable model for future Olympics—and global events more broadly. This is exemplified beyond sensible construction, and the mentioned AMO model for zero-waste goals permeates operations. Paris 2024 has implemented an ambitious waste management framework—eliminating single-use plastics, setting reuse targets for catering services, and ensuring all packaging is reusable, recyclable, or compostable. Even the procurement process is eco-designed, favoring local, low-impact suppliers. While all other measures could be challenging to implement, waste management is not. For other global events aiming to follow Paris 2024's footsteps, beginning with a small step such as this would go a long way.

Paris 2024 did not just aim for net zero but strove to be climate-positive—a goal that it achieved. It can be seen that through credible offsetting and long-term investments in biodiversity and carbon sequestration, the game removed more CO2 than it emitted and kept other carbon footprint factors in check. In a warming world, this is not just admirable but essential, for now that the bar has been raised and there is a model to follow, there is no excuse for others in the same shoes not to do so.

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