One of the many controversies related to the World Cup concerns energy waste. Even if the heat is tolerable, the air conditioning is always on
The World Cup in Qatar has been at the center of numerous controversies for some time. One of these concerns the environmental aspect and the immense energy consumption that the event entails. This is because the organization has decided to use air conditioning to maintain a temperature of 19-20°C inside the stadiums.
In Qatar the temperature is still quite mild, with minimum temperatures of 17-19°C and maximums of 28-30°C, a tolerable condition for the nation that is hosting the 2022 World Cup. The organizers, it seems, have felt however the need to lower the temperature inside the uncovered stadiums using a cooling system designed by the Doha University engineer Saud Abdulaziz Abdul Ghani renamed “ Dr. Cool ”.
The stadiums would have controlled microclimatic bubbles that envelop each spectator with vents positioned under the seats and others positioned all around the playing field. The World Cup in Qatar has declared itself carbon free and the cooling system itself is declared to depend mainly on solar energy . According to a report by Carbon market Watch, the situation is not quite so clear.
In addition to the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the construction of stadiums, their use is also energy intensive. In a country like Qatar, where 99% of electricity is generated by infrastructure powered by fossil fuels, the impact of using stadiums can be high.
According to a report, emissions related to the operation of a stadium, based on the average of the four 40,000-seat stadiums of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, represent between 22.8% and 38.4% of total stadium life-cycle emissions. This figure excludes emissions from stadium cooling, which are closely related to carbon emissions from power generation, particularly in this country.
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- World Cup in Qatar: air conditioning at 20 degrees in stadiums weighs on the energy (and climate) crisis (ohga.it)
