Achim Steiner, Caroline Spellman Comments on Tour of Olympic Park and Thames

By Eric Akasa
 

 Many of London 2012’s sustainability measures were given the thumbs up by UN Under-Secretary General and UN Environment Programme Executive Director Achim Steiner as he toured final preparations for the summer Olympic and Paralympic Games last Thursday.

“Every Olympic Games represents unique challenges and opportunities in terms of raising the bar of the third pillar of Olympism—namely the environment—and London is no exception,” Steiner said during a visit to the Olympic Park on the eve of the grand opening.

“This body of ‘lessons learnt’, dating back to UNEP’s cooperation with the International Olympic Committee in the mid-1990s, is the blueprint and guide to each successive host city and, increasingly, other organizers of mass spectator events from the FIFA World Cup to sports such as motorcycle racing,” notes Mr. Steiner as he joined Caroline Spellman, the UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on a walk around the Olympic site.

In its pre-Games sustainability report, the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) said it had met the vast majority of its targets, implementing measures that deliver the most sustainable games yet, such as: the Olympic park was created on once-contaminated industrial land, and provides both new wildlife habitats and significant flood alleviation ,the most-sustainable and lightest Olympic and Paralympic stadium in history has been completed on time, with old gas pipes used in much of its construction ,London 2012 is the first Olympic and Paralympic Games to measure its carbon footprint over the entire project term ,London 2012 is the first Olympic and Paralympic Games to commit to a Zero Waste to landfill target, reusing or recycling over 98 per cent of waste in the demolition phase, and 99 per cent in construction of the Olympic Park ,London 2012 has pledged to deliver a public transport games, targeting one million extra walking and cycling journeys in London every day of the games and ,London 2012 is also utilizing a new sustainability assessment guide developed by the Global Reporting Initiative, which was co-founded by UNEP.

“London’s cleanup of an old industrial site; the restoration of flows and habitat on the River Lea; the greening of supply chains; the low energy linked with the design and construction of the stadium including utilizing old gas pipe’s for the facility’s Olympic ring; and the use of temporary structures to reduce emissions are among the actions that can assist in inspiring the organizers of the Rio 2016 games and beyond,” Mr. Steiner observes.

Ms. Spelman said sustainability had always been at the heart of the bid to host the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games, and called the London 2012 event “the greenest games ever”.

 “We are committed to building a future for everyone where the natural environment is not just protected, but valued as a national asset,” she said. “We are delighted to have set new standards in sustainable development, and to showcase the expertise and ingenuity of British companies in delivering a green Olympics so warmly welcomed by Mr. Steiner.”

UNEP has a longstanding collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the greening of the Games that spans Athens 2004, Torino 2006, Beijing 2008 and Vancouver 2010.

UNEP has also provided a raft of recommendations to the Organizing Committee of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games to provide guidance on the integration of environmental considerations in the preparation and staging of the games and has been invited to assist Rio 2016 in its preparations.
 

After touring the London 2012 site, Mr. Steiner travelled to The Thames Barrier for a briefing on how the barrier is defending the games and Londoners from storm surges, flooding and other extreme weather events.

As of May 2012, the Thames Barrier had been raised 119 times since it became operational in 1982 (76 were to protect against tidal flooding and 43 were to alleviate fluvial flooding).

Closures of the barrier have increased through the decades, with just over two-thirds coming since 2000. It was closed four times in the 1980s, 35 times in the 1990s, and 80 times since 2000.

Environment Agency officials managing the barrier briefed Mr. Steiner on future challenges linked with climate change.

The agency estimates that the Thames Barrier will have to close more frequently to prevent overtopping of flood de-fences upstream, which carries increased risk of the barrier failing.

The current recommendation of the Thames Estuary 2100 project is to set 50 as the maximum number of times the barrier should close each year to reduce the chances of mechanical failure. This is a key constraint in the Thames tidal defense system and reaching this figure would force the agency to improve other tidal defense systems.

The Thames Barrier, with some modification, could continue to provide protection to London through this century (based on current climate guidance). However, it may prove more cost effective to build.