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Qatar Airways CEO defends 160 further day by day flights at ‘climate-neutral’ World Cup

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Qatar Airways introduced on Thursday it had partnered with regional carriers to allow World Cup ticket holders to fly into Doha and again from neighboring international locations only for the day. Local weather advocates say the choice flies within the face of the match’s sustainability targets.

“Please do not consider individuals saying solely destructive [things],” Akbar Al Baker instructed CNN’s Becky Anderson in an interview on Monday, including that he was assured the flights could be full.

“[We] have airplanes which have very low emissions in comparison with the traditional plane a lot of the different airways fly,” together with long-haul flights, he mentioned.

He didn’t elaborate on how the planes’ emissions could be decrease than others, however the airline’s web site says it makes use of “one of many youngest fleets within the sky” and has carried out 70 gas optimization applications. Aviation is a serious contributor to human-caused local weather change. Qatar’s economic system is oil-based and has one of many greatest per capita carbon footprints on the planet.

Earlier than Thursday’s announcement, organizers had estimated a carbon footprint for the match of greater than 3.6 million metric tons of CO2, greater than half of which is able to come from touring supporters. The emissions from the brand new day by day flights — from Dubai, Muscat, Riyadh, Jeddah and Kuwait — will add to the present estimate.

In response to questions from CNN, FIFA mentioned its earlier carbon footprint estimate was revealed in February 2021 and that precise variations could be addressed as soon as the match has concluded.

Qatar has mentioned it would offset the emissions by “investing in inexperienced initiatives” — a standard approach for firms and folks to cancel the affect of their footprint. Organizers have established a “International Carbon Council” tasked with “figuring out high quality initiatives.”

Local weather consultants, nevertheless, have highlighted the restrictions of offsetting applications, reminiscent of tree planting, arguing that they’re overused and their affect typically overstated, to permit for business-as-usual emissions from burning fossil fuels.

Carbon Market Watch published a report Tuesday that mentioned the World Cup’s carbon credit score plan supported initiatives with a “low degree of environmental integrity” and had thus far issued solely 130,000 credit of the pledged 1.eight million. The World Cup is because of begin in late November.

The Carbon Market Watch report additionally claims FIFA’s estimated carbon emissions for the match have been grossly underestimated, criticizing “the selection of accounting strategy.”

Commenting on the report, Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Supply and Legacy, which is accountable for the occasion, mentioned it was “speculative and inaccurate to attract conclusions” on its dedication to carbon neutrality.

“The methodology used to calculate the carbon-neutral dedication is greatest in apply and was designed to be based mostly on precise exercise information, after the FIFA World Cup has concluded,” it mentioned in an announcement despatched in response to CNN’s questions. “This might be revealed, and any discrepancies might be defined and offset.”

FIFA additionally responded to the report and defended its personal accounting technique, saying it was based mostly on the Greenhouse Fuel Protocol, a broadly used normal.

It added it had not “misled its stakeholders” and was “absolutely conscious of the dangers that mega-events pose on the economic system, the pure setting and on individuals and communities.”

In a September press launch, the Qatari organizers of the occasion mentioned one of many benefits of internet hosting the World Cup was “the compact nature” of their nation. The brief distance between stadiums would negate the necessity for home air journey by followers and cut back the carbon footprint of the match. It went on to say air journey is “acknowledged as one of many world’s largest sources of carbon emissions.”

However there have been rising issues that the small nation of lower than three million individuals could not be capable to deal with so many followers. Flying spectators out and in in a day would alleviate the necessity for increased ranges of lodging.

Al Baker, nevertheless, mentioned it was all the time the plan to run the additional flights to shuttle individuals in only for the day.

“His Highness the Emir all the time needed to share the good thing about this match with all of our neighbors,” he mentioned.

“It’s possible as a result of, before everything, now we have good state-of-the-art amenities. They course of individuals in a short time. We’ve got additionally introduced in large transportation amenities together with the metro,” Al Baker mentioned.

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