Paris wants to host the most environmentally friendly Olympics. Under the test of high temperatures, athletes don't buy it.
Entering June, many places around the world are affected by high temperatures. According to French weather forecasts, temperatures in France from May to August will also be higher than normal. The Paris Olympics will be held at the end of July. Previously, the Olympic Organizing Committee has stated that it wants to host the most environmentally friendly Olympic Games.
To achieve this goal, the Olympic Organizing Committee has announced a sustainable development plan that does not include installing air conditioning in the athletes 'area. At present, this has met with strong opposition from participating athletes. According to foreign media reports, athletes from many countries have indicated that they will bring their own air conditioners to the Olympic Village.
Last summer, Paris suffered high temperatures.
New Olympic Village cooling system
According to the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee, the Olympic Village took seven years to build and cost about US$2 billion. In the design of the Olympic Village, there are no plans to install air conditioning in the athletes 'area. Instead, like the Louvre Museum, natural resources and underground cooling systems are used to mitigate the impact of extremely hot weather.
The Olympic Village's water-cooling system will draw water from the Seine River to cool the air and then circulate it through pipes to significantly reduce the overall temperature of the building. Despite this, many athletes still believe that the cooling system in the Olympic Village is not enough to reach the ideal room temperature at critical moments when a good rest is needed.
Organizers claim that thanks to the use of low-carbon wood, concrete structures and renewable geothermal heating systems, the Olympic Village will have only about half the carbon emissions of traditional buildings.
It is with this in mind that athletes who need adequate rest to reach their best are planning to bring their air conditioners to the Olympic Village in Paris.
Paris Olympic Village
High temperatures are coming
Although it is too early to predict the weather when it opens on July 26, Europe experienced record high temperatures last summer, and historically, the French capital Paris has had at least 7 to 10 days of temperatures between late July and August.
Previously, the International Olympic Committee not only promised that the Paris Olympics would be the most sustainable Olympic Games in history, but also formulated a special target plan-compared with previous Olympics, the carbon emissions of this Olympics would be halved.
The plan includes installing a water cooling system instead of air conditioning in the Olympic Village to ensure that the venue has 30% lower carbon emissions than traditional building projects, but the plan does not guarantee that athletes will have ideal resting temperatures when temperatures soar.
"Although the outdoor temperature reaches 41 ° C, the temperature in most of our rooms is only 28 ° C." Laurent Michaud, director of the Paris Olympic Village, gave an example in a speech last February. He pointed out that air conditioning is needed only during extreme heat waves, because indoor temperatures rarely exceed 26 degrees Celsius.
French President Macron also recognized the environmental protection system used in the Olympic Village. He also mentioned that this system will serve as a model for the future."This is a model for the future city. Here we see that the buildings to be built in 2040 can withstand The climatic conditions of 2050 can completely resist all kinds of hot and cold weather."
The extremely simple rooms in the Olympic Village have led many delegations to consider installing air conditioners themselves.
Athletes don't buy it
Although the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee tried its best to persuade athletes to consider environmental protection, participating athletes did not buy it-delegations from many countries are planning to use portable air conditioners in at least some athletes 'rooms in hot weather.
Of course, the move contradicts the International Olympic Committee's sustainability proposition, but delegations from the United States, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Italy are all considering implementing air-conditioning plans. Due to the relatively low cost of portable air conditioners (between € 400 and € 500) and ease of transportation and installation, other countries will likely follow this approach.
Anna Mills, head of the Australia delegation, said in an interview with the Guardian that the Australia Olympic Committee decided to install air conditioning in all athletes 'rooms. This is a "strategy to improve athletes' performance" and help athletes sleep.
Alexandra Palley, chairman of the Greek Olympic Committee for environmental sustainability, also said they would do so, although it makes it unlikely that they will achieve their goal of halving carbon emissions.
