Greenpeace criticizes FIFA

Flying to three continents and planting trees in return is a sham - environmental organization calls for World Cup to be held in one country or region

Greenpeace vehemently criticizes FIFA's latest plans to hold the 2030 World Cup matches on three continents.

"If I force fans and athletes to fly around the world, and at the same time attach climate protection to my own flags because I'm planting a few trees, then that's cheating us and our planet," says Ursula Bittner, economic expert at Greenpeace in Austria.

In its own climate protection strategy, FIFA states that it will reduce its CO2 greenhouse gases by 50 percent by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2040. Greenpeace is calling on FIFA to implement credible and scientifically verifiable climate protection measures and to hold the World Cup in only one country or region in future.

In order to achieve its own climate targets, the world football association relies on offsetting, among other things. At the World Cups, projects are financed in the respective host cities to offset the CO2 consumption of the World Cup.

Such compensation projects often involve planting trees in large areas.

"However, this is nothing more than a modern-day indulgence trade and conceals the biggest problem: the travel of teams, officials and fans. Up to 80 percent of CO2 greenhouse gases are produced here," says Bittner. "This shows the absurdity of offsetting: While FIFA drives the soccer community from one continent to the next, it could call itself climate neutral."

Furthermore, offsetting projects often do not work. Only recently, research by The Guardian and Die Zeit revealed that more than 90 percent of projects do not actually save any emissions.

Greenpeace is calling on FIFA to limit the hosting of the World Cup to one country or region, to completely dispense with CO2 compensation projects and not to deceive its fans.

"Players and fans want climate-friendly football," says Bittner.