The Legacy and Sustainability plan for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games — 18 GUARANTEEING A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE CLIMATE: A GROUND-BREAKING METHOD AND AMBITION Climate change could eventually make sport impossible. Increasingly frequent and intense heat waves in urban areas lead authorities to advise people living in towns and cities to avoid any outdoor activity and sometimes even postpone sporting competitions. Given the forecasts and projections put out by the scientific community, the summer Games may be called into question, as studies suggest that by 2085, only around 30 cities in the northern hemisphere will be cool enough to host the Games, and certain countries will no longer be able to compete in a number of sports as athletes will be unable to train in their own countries, which ultimately will damage the universal nature of the Games. In the face of the greatest challenge humanity has ever known, the world’s largest sporting event assumes its responsibilities. The most important legacy the Games need to leave is a neutral impact on the climate and the environment by halving the event’s carbon footprint, offsetting 100% of residual impacts on the widest scope of responsibility (scope 3) and guaranteeing compliance with the most stringent environmental standards. In line with the guiding principles of sobriety, innovation and boldness, Paris 2024 is setting a new standard for the organisation of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The new challenge is to create a positive impact on the climate by supporting projects making it possible to avoid or capture more CO2 emissions than the Games generate. A NEW MODEL: FROM A CARBON FOOTPRINT FORECAST TO A CARBON BUDGET SET WELL AHEAD OF THE GAMES The Paris 2024 method involves using a new model to factor in the carbon footprint of an event. Instead of forecasting an event’s footprint or reporting and offsetting it once the event is over, Paris 2024 has started with a “target carbon footprint” and implements ambitious actions to remain within its target. Similar to financial budgets that need to be kept to, the target carbon footprint represents a kind of carbon budget that needs to be kept to when delivering the Games. This method, which seeks to transform the way we think about greenhouse gas emissions, enables the management and control of an event’s impact, right from the start of the organisation process. Previous editions of the summer Games emitted 3.6 million tonnes of CO2 on average, yet Paris 2024 has set its carbon budget at 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 across all the main sources of emissions (construction, transport and operations for the Games). Paris 2024 will achieve its ambitious reduction target through a low-impact concept in which 95% of the infrastructure required already exists or is temporary, and a CO2 emissions reduction plan for all Games-related operations. It is the first time a Committee set itself a carbon budget to keep to long before the Games using a new method for strategy and overall operations.