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This Week in Green – Dec. 6, 2010

Just for Kicks, How About a Carbon-Neutral World Cup?

It’s hard to overlook the sheer excess of global sporting events like the World Cup, and Qatar’s stunning victory to host the 2022 World Cup is no different.

Qatar has already promised to spend $54 billion on infrastructure and stadium upgrades, an amount sure to increase in the ensuing decade. Putting aside how such a vast sum could be better spent to solve some of the ills of our planet, there may be a silver lining to Qatar’s bid.

Because Qatar, a tiny country on the Persian Gulf in the Middle East, has promised to host the first carbon-neutral games. And that would be a huge, welcome step considering it has the highest per-capita carbon-dioxide emissions in the world.

Qatar’s plan is to build or renovate 12 soccer stadiums, all solar-powered. And with an AVERAGE summer temperature of 115 degrees Fahrenheit, all those stadiums will be air-conditioned as well, all powered by the sun.

Of course, that won’t change the amount of air conditioning Qataris use, one of the major reasons for the country’s high emissions. Nor will it alter how much water is used per-capita, per-day, also one of the highest amounts in the world.

But that’s a story for a different day.