IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i2p1207-d1029654.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainable Legacies of a Climate Positive Olympic Games: An Assessment of Carbon Offsets and Renewable Energy for Brisbane 2032

Author

Listed:
  • Anthony P. Heynen

    (Sustainable Energy Program, School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia)

  • Prabhakaran Vanaraja Ambeth

    (Sustainable Energy Program, School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia)

Abstract

Brisbane, Australia will host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2032—the first to be contractually obliged to be Climate Positive. This commitment can be achieved through a combination of two levers: emission reduction measures and carbon offsets. The objective of this study is to determine which combination of these levers is likely to maximise sustainability and its social, economic, and ecological dimensions. Based on these dimensions and the perspective of technology determinism, a novel sustainability assessment model is developed. Then, through a document analysis, this study uses emissions data to analyse and evaluate three different combinations of carbon offsets and renewable energy. Results showed that a higher reliance on carbon offsets resulted in poorer sustainability outcomes for this mega-event. The most sustainable scenario, involving large-scale investment in renewable energy infrastructure, involved significant cost implications but is likely to create greater legacy outcomes. Key recommendations include improving the governance and socialisation of Climate Positive delivery, and increasing partnerships with the private sector. Doing so will help enhance the authenticity and legacy of Climate Positive commitments for host regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Anthony P. Heynen & Prabhakaran Vanaraja Ambeth, 2023. "Sustainable Legacies of a Climate Positive Olympic Games: An Assessment of Carbon Offsets and Renewable Energy for Brisbane 2032," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-26, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:2:p:1207-:d:1029654
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/2/1207/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/2/1207/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Md Arif Hasan & Abdullah Al Mamun & Syed Masiur Rahman & Karim Malik & Md. Iqram Uddin Al Amran & Abu Nasser Khondaker & Omer Reshi & Surya Prakash Tiwari & Fahad Saleh Alismail, 2021. "Climate Change Mitigation Pathways for the Aviation Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-29, March.
    2. Nicolas Kreibich & Lukas Hermwille, 2021. "Caught in between: credibility and feasibility of the voluntary carbon market post-2020," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(7), pages 939-957, August.
    3. Jane Loveday & Gregory M. Morrison & David A. Martin, 2022. "Identifying Knowledge and Process Gaps from a Systematic Literature Review of Net-Zero Definitions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-37, March.
    4. Ekaterina Glebova & Anna Gerke & Robert Book, 2023. "The Transformational Role of Technology in Sports Events," Sports Economics, Management, and Policy, in: Bhaskar Basu & Michel Desbordes & Soumya Sarkar (ed.), Sports Management in an Uncertain Environment, pages 169-187, Springer.
    5. Andrea Collins & Andrew Flynn, 2008. "Measuring the Environmental Sustainability of a Major Sporting Event: A Case Study of the FA Cup Final," Tourism Economics, , vol. 14(4), pages 751-768, December.
    6. Anderson, Brilé & Bernauer, Thomas, 2016. "How much carbon offsetting and where? Implications of efficiency, effectiveness, and ethicality considerations for public opinion formation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 387-395.
    7. Gujba, H. & Mulugetta, Y. & Azapagic, A., 2010. "Environmental and economic appraisal of power generation capacity expansion plan in Nigeria," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 5636-5652, October.
    8. Minnaert, Lynn, 2012. "An Olympic legacy for all? The non-infrastructural outcomes of the Olympic Games for socially excluded groups (Atlanta 1996–Beijing 2008)," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 361-370.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chengcai Tang & Shiyi Xu & Xiaoyue Xiao, 2024. "Transforming “white elephants” into positive legacies for cities: An assessment of the sustainability of winter Olympic venues and its implications," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 4145-4159, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jens Abildtrup & Jette Bredahl Jacobsen & Suzanne Elizabeth Vedel & Udo Mantau & Robert Mavsar & Davide Pettenella & Irina Prokofieva & Florian Schubert & Anne Stenger & Elsa Varela & Enrico Vidale & , 2024. "Preferences for climate change policies: the role of co-benefits," Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(1), pages 110-128, January.
    2. Getz, Donald & Page, Stephen J., 2016. "Progress and prospects for event tourism research," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 593-631.
    3. repec:osf:osfxxx:buvzy_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Michael O. Ukoba & Ogheneruona E. Diemuodeke & Mohammed Alghassab & Henry I. Njoku & Muhammad Imran & Zafar A. Khan, 2020. "Composite Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for Optimization of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Geopolitical Zones in Nigeria," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-27, July.
    5. Gulijiazi Yeerkenbieke & Chunci Chen & Guizhen He, 2021. "Public Perceived Effects of 2022 Winter Olympics on Host City Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-20, March.
    6. Fabiana R. Sousa-Mast & Arianne C. Reis & Marcelo C. Vieira & Sandro Sperandei & Luilma A. Gurgel & Uwe Pühse, 2017. "Does being an Olympic city help improve recreational resources? Examining the quality of physical activity resources in a low-income neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 62(2), pages 263-268, March.
    7. Fuyuan Wang & Kaiyong Wang, 2017. "Assessing the Effect of Eco-City Practices on Urban Sustainability Using an Extended Ecological Footprint Model: A Case Study in Xi’an, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-16, September.
    8. Fiegenbaum, Hanna, 2024. "Complementing Carbon Credits from Forest-Related Activities with Biodiversity Insurance and Resilience Value," OSF Preprints buvzy, Center for Open Science.
    9. Marko Perić & Vanja Vitezić, 2019. "Socio-Economic Impacts of Event Failure: The Case of a Cancelled International Cycling Race," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-15, September.
    10. Giwa, Adewale & Alabi, Adetunji & Yusuf, Ahmed & Olukan, Tuza, 2017. "A comprehensive review on biomass and solar energy for sustainable energy generation in Nigeria," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 620-641.
    11. Qi, Yufei & Sajadi, S. Mohammad & Baghaei, S. & Rezaei, R. & Li, Wei, 2024. "Digital technologies in sports: Opportunities, challenges, and strategies for safeguarding athlete wellbeing and competitive integrity in the digital era," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    12. Aliyu, Abubakar Sadiq & Dada, Joseph O. & Adam, Ibrahim Khalil, 2015. "Current status and future prospects of renewable energy in Nigeria," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 336-346.
    13. Aslı Öztopcu, 2024. "Environmental sustainability in sport: formula 1’s SDGs responsiveness," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(12), pages 31075-31097, December.
    14. Akinyemi, Opeyemi & Ogundipe, Adeyemi & Alege, Philip, 2012. "Energy Supply and Climate Change in Nigeria," MPRA Paper 55820, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Peters, Pedro & da Costa, Vinicius Braga Ferreira & Dias, Bruno Henriques & Bonatto, Benedito Donizeti, 2025. "A holistic analysis of environmental impacts and improvement pathways for the Brazilian electric sector based on long-term planning and life cycle assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 377(PB).
    16. Somorin, Tosin Onabanjo & Di Lorenzo, Giuseppina & Kolios, Athanasios J., 2017. "Life-cycle assessment of self-generated electricity in Nigeria and Jatropha biodiesel as an alternative power fuel," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 966-979.
    17. Fan, Dian & Chen, Shaoqing, 2024. "No pain, no gain? Simulation of carbon reduction potential and socioeconomic effects of voluntary carbon trading in China during 2021–2060," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 375(C).
    18. Huei-Fu Lu, 2021. "Hallmark Sporting Events as a Vehicle for Promoting the Sustainable Development of Regional Tourism: Strategic Perspectives from Stakeholders," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-15, March.
    19. Ricardo Roseira Cayolla & Joana A. Quintela & Teresa Santos, 2023. "Analysis of Travel Behaviour of Professional Sports Organisation Members to the Stadium: Future Implications for Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-14, April.
    20. Baranzini, Andrea & Borzykowski, Nicolas & Carattini, Stefano, 2018. "Carbon offsets out of the woods? Acceptability of domestic vs. international reforestation programmes in the lab," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 1-12.
    21. repec:eur:ejfejr:94 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Fridahl, Mathias & Möllersten, Kenneth & Lundberg, Liv & Rickels, Wilfried, 2024. "Potential and goal conflicts in reverse auction design for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)," Open Access Publications from Kiel Institute for the World Economy 306863, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:2:p:1207-:d:1029654. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.