How the Winter Olympics being a platform for polluters is melting the snow it depends on

This report assesses the total greenhouse gas emissions – both direct and indirect – of the Winter Olympics. It examines the official data on the size of the emissions, the main activities which contribute, and the sources which are missing from official assessments – especially ‘sponsorship emissions,’ which result from the promotion of sponsors who are heavily polluting. It also looks at the key actions which organisers are taking, or could take, to reduce those emissions. The report also estimates the scale of some of the impacts of those emissions on the winter sports environment, especially losses in snow cover and glacier ice. 

Author: Dr Stuart Parkinson and Andrew Simms

Publication date: January 2026 

No of pages: 27

Publishers: New Weather Institute, Scientists for Global Responsibility, and Champions for Earth
 

Download pdf of report [from New Weather Institute website]
 

Also see...

The hidden carbon footprint of the Winter Olympics (blog)
https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/hidden-carbon-footprint-winter-olympics

SGR's webpages on the carbon footprint of sport
https://www.sgr.org.uk/projects/carbon-footprint-sport-main-outputs