FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: Carbon Footprint Concerns

Climate experts are questioning Qatar's efforts to host the first-ever 'carbon-neutral' World Cup.

According to Carbon Market Watch, Qatar's calculations are under-reporting the tournament's carbon footprint, and that 'the carbon credits being purchased to offset these emissions are unlikely to have a sufficiently positive impact on the climate,' according to a statement.

However, Qatar's tournament organisers dismissed the conclusions as speculative, saying emissions will be calculated using "best-in practice" methods after the tournament ends to ensure they are based on actual activities.

The decision to offset its emissions should be "recognized rather than criticized," a spokesperson for the tournament organisers, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, said in a statement.

A week ago, Qatar Airways announced a partnership with Gulf carriers to provide more than 160 daily shuttle flights allowing fans to fly to Doha to attend a game and come back in the same day.

The chief executive of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker has defended the plan saying, "Please don't believe people saying only negative [things]," in an interview to CNN.

Al Baker added that he was confident the flights would be full. "[We] have airplanes which have very low emissions compared to the normal aircraft most of the other airlines fly, including long-haul flights."

According to a Reuters report, Qatar's organisers have highlighted the tournament's carbon limiting efforts, such as introducing solar-powered air conditioning, building a reusable stadium from shipping containers and the fact that fans won't need to fly from one match to the next.

But Carbon Market Watch's report cast doubt on several initiatives, like a large-scale grass farm that Qatar, which has negligible water resources, has built in the desert to produce stadium-ready turf, the Reuters report further read.