BEIJING/NAIROBI, Nov. 22, 2005 - An agreement aimed a making the
summer Olympics of 2008 environmentally friendly has been signed by the
United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the Beijing Organizing
Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG).
The agreement rests on the ambitious programs of Beijing in areas
ranging from air, water, and noise pollution up to transport,
landscaping, and the disposal of solid waste.
A key part of the plan and one in which UNEP will be actively involved
is in the area of public awareness campaigns.
In doing so the U.N. environment body hopes to leave a lasting legacy in
China and beyond on the links between mass participation events and a
healthy environment.
The campaigns will also link the importance of the environment generally
in delivering sustainable development that benefits current and future
generations.
In exactly 993 days, the next Olympic Summer Games will open in Beijing,
China. The Games are set to follow in the footsteps of earlier Olympics,
including Torino 2006, in promoting and respecting a healthier
environment.
Klaus Toepfer, UNEP's executive director, said at the signing ceremony:
"Environment is one of the three pillars of sustainable development --
development that respects people and the planet. Through sports and
through the Olympic movement we can further these goals by holding Games
that minimize their environmental footprint and maximize the efficient
use of resources."
"Beijing has committed itself to very high and ambitious environmental
goals, ones which if achieved will percolate out into Chinese society
and out into the world as a whole. UNEP is delighted to be a partner in
this endeavor and we stand ready to assist and offer advice to the
organizers in their attempt to realize the greenest summer Games ever,"
he added.
The signing of the agreement comes only a week after the 6th World
Conference on Sport and the Environment, which was co-hosted by UNEP and
the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The conference, under the theme of "Sport, Peace, and Environment"
brought together around 300 delegates, representing up to 100 different
countries who adopted a key resolution on promoting sports and the
environment into the 21st century.
Eric Falt, director of the UNEP division of communications and public
information which will be spearheading the U.N. side of the Beijing
agreement, said: "Sport has the power to bridge the divide between
communities and countries and in doing so help in our common quest for a
more stable and peaceful world.”
“Part of that stability rests on a healthy and durable environment. So
the commitments made by the organizing committee for the 2008 Summer
Games have resonance both within and beyond the sporting world. Through
well-targeted and well-designed public awareness initiatives we hope to
take this message to the people of China and to the peoples of the
world,” he added.
The green plans for Beijing are part of a growing commitment by Olympic
organizers to put sport at the forefront of environmental planning and
awareness.
During last week's conference in Nairobi organizers of the upcoming
Winter Olympic Games in Torino, who are working closely with UNEP,
unveiled their third Sustainability Report.
Initiatives include the HEritage Climate TORino (HECTOR) project
designed to make the Winter Games carbon-neutral alongside eco-labeling
for hotels and measures to reduce the amounts of water needed to
generate artificial snow.