IOC lauds Games' green credentials

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) this week heaped praise on China for delivering on its promise of staging a carbon-neutral Winter Games through the use of renewable energy at venues and its ambition of attracting 300 million people to winter sports.

Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., the chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission for Beijing 2022, told a digital press conference on Tuesday he was happy and proud to see that Beijing has dedicated enormous attention to sustainability.

The IOC held the virtual meeting to discuss technical preparations for the Games, including the venues, the first version of the Playbook and the ongoing test events.

Expressing gratitude to the Beijing 2022 organizing committee, Samaranch said: "They are going to deliver extraordinary Games even in this very challenging period of time with the coronavirus pandemic.

"With less than 90 days to go until the Games, the IOC and the Beijing 2022 organizing committee are both in full operational mode.

"The facilities in competition areas and services in the venues are ready, and we are in the middle of the final test events, activities and training weeks."

Samaranch believes Beijing 2022 is very much aligned with the green principles of Olympic Agenda 2020+5.

"Many Olympic and Paralympic venues are powered by renewable energy, like solar or wind power. It's very innovative on low-carbon emissions. The CO2 refrigeration systems will be used in most of the ice venues," he said.

"China is also keeping its promise of getting 300 million people involved in winter sports. The winter sports population in China reached 224 million in the 2018-19 season. We are convinced that the Beijing Winter Olympics will inspire thousands of children and young students to embrace winter sports across the world."

Christophe Dubi, the IOC Olympic Games executive director, also lauded the Beijing 2022 test events, which received high ratings and positive feedback from international federations and athletes.

"It is really impressive to see the Water Cube turned into an Ice Cube. The same goes for the new venues which have been built," said Dubi. "Big issues have already been resolved, and we should focus on details in the final stretch. The Olympics is always an opportunity to make the world come together."

Xinhua