Please don’t believe people who only say negative [things]Akbar al-Baker told CNN’s Becky Anderson in an interview on Monday, adding that he was confident flights would be full.
“[We] He said it has planes with very low emissions compared to the regular planes most other airlines fly “including on long-haul flights.
It did not say how the aircraft’s emissions would be lower than others, but the airline’s website says it uses “one of the smallest fleets in the sky” and has implemented 70 fuel optimization programs. Aviation is a major contributor to human-caused climate change. Qatar’s economy is dependent on oil and has one of the largest per capita carbon footprints in the world.
In response to questions from CNN, FIFA said its previous estimate of the carbon footprint was published in February 2021 and that actual differences would be addressed once the tournament ended.
Qatar has said it will offset emissions by “investing in green projects” – a common way for companies and individuals to offset their footprint. The organizers established a “World Carbon Council” tasked with “identifying quality projects.”
The Carbon Market Watch report also claims that FIFA’s estimated carbon emissions for the tournament have been significantly underestimated, criticizing the “choice of accounting approach”.
Commenting on the report, Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, which is in charge of the event, said there was “guessing and inaccuracies in drawing conclusions” about its commitment to carbon neutrality.
“The methodology used to calculate the carbon neutral commitment is best in practice and has been designed to be based on actual activity data, after the FIFA World Cup has ended,” she said in a statement sent in response to CNN’s questions. “This will be published, and any discrepancies will be explained and compensated.”
FIFA also responded to the report and defended its approach to accounting, saying it was based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, a widely used standard.
It added that it did not “mislead stakeholders” and was “fully aware of the risks posed by mega-events to the economy, the natural environment, people and societies”.
In a press release issued in September, Qatari organizers of the event said that one of the advantages of hosting the World Cup is the “embedded nature” of their country. The short distance between stadiums will eliminate the need for domestic air travel by fans and reduce the tournament’s carbon footprint. She went on to say that air travel “is known to be one of the largest sources of carbon emissions in the world”.
But there were growing concerns that the small country of less than 3 million people might not be able to handle so many fans. Flying in and out spectators in one day would mitigate the need for higher levels of accommodation.
However, Al Baker said the plan was always to only operate the extra flights to carry people per day.
“His Highness the Amir has always wanted to share the benefits of this tournament with all our neighbours,” he said.
“This is possible because first of all we have good state-of-the-art facilities. They treat people very quickly. We have also brought in huge transport facilities including the metro,” Al Baker said.
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