@Green July/August 2024 | Page 23

July-August . 2024 | @ green

To achieve his target , Estanguet and his Paris 2024 Organising Committee pursued the following initiatives :

• Securing the support of the government of France , including the Ministry for Ecological Transition , and Local Authorities , particularly in the City of Paris , to play a crucial role in shaping the green strategy of the Games by implementing policies and providing support for sustainable practices .

• Working with Sustainability Partners , including collaborating with various agents , including environmental organisations and private companies , to ensure the Games met their sustainability goals . This included partnerships with companies focused on renewable energy , waste management , and sustainable construction .

• Deploying technology as this was the first time in the history of the Games that potential sources of carbon emissions were identified in advance , and methods were developed for monitoring these sites throughout the event .

• Creating awareness through the use of a software application called “ Event Climate Coach ”, to encourage organisers of other sporting events globally to follow the Paris 2024 approach . The post-event assessment of Paris

2024 from an emissions perspective has only just commenced . Emissions are expected to be less impactful than that of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics ( held in 2021 ). For Tokyo , it has been estimated that around 2.4 million metric tons of CO2 were emitted but whether Tony Estanguet achieves his pre-set objectives for Paris 2024 remains to be seen . If he has not , a greater level of Post Event Emissions Offset will be required .

PRIORITY OF THE CLIMATE AGENDA

Climate Alarmists vehemently claim that the over-arching priority of society today should be to live and work , recognising that we impact the environment through the activities that we undertake . The thesis is that every molecule of carbon dioxide emitted should be done so for an essential activity , as far as practicable .

Such a premise precipitates a vital question i . e . how can social and sporting events such as the Olympics , a Soccer World Cup or , regional tournaments or leagues , or music festivals and pop concerts be justified ?

Large-scale social and sporting events primarily impact the environment negatively . While these events promote social interaction , provide an avenue of entertainment , and generate economic benefits , they also bring a cost to the planet .

The Paris 2024 Emissions Management Strategy provides one progressive method on how large-scale social and sporting events may be approached in an environmentally responsible manner .

Other ideas formulated to reduce the carbon footprint of large-scale events include :

• Downsizing and decentralising events so that both spectators and participants require less travel ;

• Enforcing stronger accountability and transparency in estimating , measuring and reporting emission levels ;

• Using only renewable energy sources ;

• Discouraging foreign travel to a large-scale events ; and

• Rotating large-scale events among cities with adequate facilities to avoid additional construction . The global population experiences the negative effects of large-scale events on the planet , whilst a few mainly enjoy the social and economic benefits . This begs the question : How can the carbon budget related to such discretionary large-scale events be shared equitably ?

The reality is that whilst such a question is valid , the conundrum may never be resolved . Like the Paris 2024 Olympics Organising Committee , we need to rigorously build sustainability initiatives and a carbon neutrality approach in all our over-arching strategies when planning large-scale events . Otherwise , as more significance is accorded to the degree of GHG emissions , large-scale events , particularly of a sporting or social nature , will become difficult to justify , and the golden memories of courage , athletic prowess , human spirit , national pride and fun , associated with events like the Olympics , will eventually fade away . This must never be allowed to happen . – @ green

I FIRST heard about the Olympic Games in 1968 , at the age of 10 , when my father gifted me with my very first “ First Day Cover ”. A First Day Cover is a thematically decorated envelope issued by a post office of a country on a specific date , commemorating an event . Newly-minted postage stamps are fixed on the decorated envelope , and these newly issued stamps are post-marked with the “ first ” date of issuance of these new stamps .

In my school days , we did not attend classes only to learn about the theories of physics or the great battles of Europe and Asia . We also went to school to participate and sometimes compete in a variety of sports activities . In fact , for many of us , studying was a secondary school activity , whilst the skills associated with football , hockey , and badminton were essentials which had to be mastered .

In 1968 , I recall my sports teacher at the La Salle , Brickfields telling his students that the torch relay for this XIX Mexico Olympiad had followed the route taken by the explorer Christopher Columbus from Europe to the New World . I also recall that the Olympics of 1968 gave us some indelible memories :

In the thin air of Mexico City , Jim Hines officially broke the 10-second barrier for the first time in the 100-metre sprint .

In the medal award ceremony for the men ’ s 200 metres , African- American athletes Tommie Smith ( gold medal ) and John Carlos ( bronze medal ) made a stand for civil rights by raising their black-gloved fists . In response , the IOC banned these two athletes for life .

George Foreman , who was to dominate boxing for decades , won the gold medal in the heavyweight category of the sport .

In the long jump , Bob Beamon leapt 8.90 m and set an Olympic record that stands until today . Interestingly , whilst it is an Olympic record , it is not a World record . In 1991 , it was surpassed as a World record by Mike Powell .

Dick Fosbury won a gold medal in the high jump , introducing a new technique which came to be known as the Fosbury Flop . It remains the dominant technique in the event .

For Malaysians , Tan Sri Dr Mani Jegathesan qualified for the semifinals of the 200 meters race , clocking 20.92 sec , a Malaysian record which stood for 49 years ( eventually broken in 2017 by sprinter Khairul Hafiz Jantan who ran 20.90 seconds in the 2017 Sukma Games in Sarawak ).