Beijing,
5 August 2008 – As seven million spectators
count down to the opening of the Beijing
2008 Olympic Games, solar energy, wind farms
and recycled water are among the green features
that will help power their Olympic experience.
The most comprehensive
pre-Games environmental assessment of the
Beijing 2008 Olympics, compiled by the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), measures
Beijing's achievements and challenges on
the road to greening the Olympics.
'Beijing 2008 Olympic
Games – An Environmental Review', prepared
late last year by UNEP, takes a comprehensive
look at the green features of the Olympic
venues, from the extensive use of renewable
energy to pioneering systems for water conservation
and eco-friendly lighting.
UNEP Executive Director
Achim Steiner said: "Anybody who knows
what the situation was like ten years ago
in Beijing will clearly acknowledge that
an enormous amount has been done. The legacy
of this Olympic Games will be in part that
it has left in place an infrastructure for
public transport and cleaner vehicles that
will benefit not only the Olympic Games
but also the population of Beijing and hopefully
in due course other parts of China. So in
that sense, air pollution was an incentive
to do something that was long overdue in
China's own interest."
The report emphasizes
that UNEP believes the variety of clean
energy and energy saving solutions employed
by venue designers in Beijing provides a
positive showcase and an inspiration for
future Games organizers.
Green features of the
Olympic venues:
Solar power is being
used to light lawns, courtyards and streets
at several venues including the Olympic
Village. The National Stadium, where events
such as athletics and football will be held,
is being lit by a 130 KW photovoltaic system.
At the 400,000 square
metre Olympic Village, reclaimed water from
the Qinghe sewage treatment plant is being
used for heating and cooling systems – around
60 per cent in electrical savings is anticipated.
Translucent membranes in the ceilings and
walls of the National Aquatics Centre or
'Water Cube' allow in natural light, and
specially designed 'beam-pipes' funnel sunlight
into corridors, toilets and car parks at
venues including the Olympic Green.
In the Olympic Media
Village, at least 3,000 cubic metres of
rainwater can be captured using water permeable
bricks, pipes and wells installed on roofs,
roads and green areas.
The organizers have
set a target of achieving a 50 per cent
recycling of waste including paper, metals
and plastics at venues. A test run, carried
out during the 11th World Softball Championships
held last year, achieved a nearly 90 per
cent recycling.
As part of UNEP's continuing
support for the greening of the Games, Mr.
Steiner will attend the Olympic Opening
Ceremony on 8 August and visit several of
the green Olympic venues.
In the second half of
2008, UNEP will also publish a Post-Games
Environmental Report in order to assess
the impact of hosting the Olympics, with
a review of air quality, transportation,
energy, water, waste and other areas.
Notes to editors:
UNEP's sport and environment
programme dates back to 1994 when UNEP signed
a cooperative agreement with the International
Olympic Committee.
UNEP and the Beijing
Olympic Committee signed an agreement in
November 2005 aimed at making the 2008 Olympic
Games environmentally-friendly. As part
of this, UNEP published 'Beijing 2008 Olympic
Games – An Environmental Review', an independent
review of Beijing's environmental commitments
and actions in October 2007, and will follow
up with a Post-Games Environmental Report.
Satinder Bindra, UNEP Director of Communications
in Beijing
Theodore Oben, UNEP Chief of Sports &
the Environment in Beijing
Anne-France White, UNEP Associate Information
Officer
