2026 FIFA World Cup to be most climate-damaging ever, says report
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.
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