Faster, Higher, Stronger… Greener? The most eco Olympics yet

The Olympic motto is "Faster, Higher, Stronger, Together." For Paris 2024 - you could add "greener."

The Games' organizers are hoping to host the greenest-ever Olympics.

‌The Olympic Village is being powered by renewable energy, and there will be a focus on vegetarian food, recycling and no single-use plastic.

The buildings being used for the Olympics have eco-ambitions at the core. The Adidas Arena in northern Paris, which will host badminton and gymnastics, is made from low-carbon concrete and 80 percent of the building will be covered with greenery.

‌"All the seats here are made of recycled materials," said the Arena's assistant event manager Julie Fabre, "there are solar panels on the roof, there is lots of greenery as well for the ecological aspect, and so there you have it, the building was conceived to be eco-responsible."

The new Aquatics Center is the only permanent arena purpose-built for the Games. The architects were keen to ensure construction was as environmentally friendly as possible. They used wood and recycled materials – and the water in the center is warmed by capturing the heat output from a nearby data center.

‌"I think for me the most important thing was to answer to sustainability and all technical points we had to reach but with beauty and architecture," said Laure Meriaud, one of the architects who designed the Olympic Aquatics Center.

READ MORE

Solar cars and tyre dust: Auto's future at Goodwood Festival of Speed

Mackerel getting Norwegian fishermen out of deep water

The UK village that inspired the Olympic Games

‌Paris 2024's ecological ambitions are not limited to this summer. The apartments where elite athletes will stay during the competition will be converted into local housing after the Games.

‌Paris gets hot in the summer but competitors will have to make do with fans to keep cool: air-conditioning units have not been installed, to keep electricity use down.

Energy consumption is one of the biggest sources of air pollution in Europe. The organizers have an ambition to limit Olympic emissions to around 1.75 million tonnes of CO2 - half that of the previous Summer Games in London, Rio, and Tokyo.

Two of the main legacy aims for Paris 2024 are building public pools on the River Seine and also converting the areas around Olympic venues into new neighborhoods.

Ensuring the Games are remembered for their sustainability achievements is another ambition - and one that the organizers consider just as important.

Subscribe to Storyboard: A weekly newsletter bringing you the best of CGTN every Friday