2026 World Cup projected to be most polluting in history | OneFootball

The 2026 North American World Cup is projected to carry a record carbon footprint of 7.8 million tCO2e, more than double the last edition. According to Le Progres, Greenly’s calculation makes it by far the most polluting World Cup.

The figure is 2.1 times Qatar 2022, when seven brand-new stadiums were built. Infrastructure then accounted for nearly a quarter of total emissions.

For 2026, 87% of the footprint is attributed to supporters’ air travel. Those journeys alone, at 6.82 million tCO2e, equate to the annual emissions of about 725,000 French people, roughly the population of Marseille.

Greenly co-founder Alexis Normand says global sporting showpieces should not turn a blind eye to wider planetary challenges. He argues hosts should be dense and well connected, with travel distances reduced and sustainability made a real award criterion.

FIFA pledged in 2021 at COP26 to halve emissions by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2040. Its sustainability strategy so far sets no overall greenhouse gas reduction target.

Back in 2018, the tournament’s footprint was put at 3.7 million tCO2e on an 80-match format, not the 104 later approved. That estimate remains FIFA’s only public reference to date.

Source: Le Progres