Winter Olympics green credentials left skating on thin ice

The organising committee for the Vancouver Olympic Games has announced a carbon offset target for the event, on the same day that its original environmental partner for the games chided it for not going carbon neutral.

Earlier this week, the Vancouver Organising Committee (VANOC) announced it hopes to invest in projects to neutralise 300,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by investing in carbon reduction projects.

However, this still falls short of a best estimate that the games will produce 330,000 tonnes of emissions. The games are expected to result in 110,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases directly, with a further 220,000 coming from games-related air travel.

The David Suzuki Foundation, which produced that emissions estimate for VANOC in 2007, released a report called On Thin Ice on Monday chastising the committee for not going far enough in mitigating the environmental impact of the event.

"At the time of writing this report, VANOC had made progress in reducing its emissions; for example, by building many of its venues to high environmental standards (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Standard)," said the report. "However, VANOC has not yet confirmed that it will fulfil its bid commitment and hold a carbon-neutral Games."

The foundation also recommended that VANOC use the established Gold Standard for at least 20 per cent of the offset credits it buys. However, the committee is aiming to use the Pacific Carbon Trust (PCT), a Crown Corporation created by the Government of British Columbia, the province where the events are being held, as its benchmark. The PCT was created to qualify greenhouse gas offset credits in the region, but there is no mention of compliance or equivalence with the Gold Standard in the PCT's literature.

However, the committee is adhering to some of the recommendations made in the Suzuki Foundation's report. It is measuring air travel related to the games, officials said, and it will also cover the whole 27-day period, including the Paralympic Winter Games, rather than just the 17 days of the Olympic event, as well as account for emissions created since the games were awarded to the city.

If the committee's next estimate of games-related emissions – due this October – changes, then it may still meet the carbon-neutral target as it expects the figures to fall based on its efforts to cut emissions since 2007.