Climate concerns cast doubt over the future of Winter Olympics

One IOC strategy for improving sustainability is staging Games across wider regions using more existing facilities. Milano–Cortina is the first major test, spread across three hubs, Milan, Cortina and Livigno, with only two new permanent venues. Keystone

As Olympic competition intensifies at Milano–Cortina, global warming is casting a long shadow over the future of the Winter Games. Climate change is putting into question their format, timing and the viable host countries. Could Switzerland’s proposed low-impact 2038 edition be a path forward?

The 2026 Winter Games opened with heavy snowfall in Cortina d’Ampezzo, northern Italy, but temperatures are rising and the snow is slowly melting. Since Cortina last hosted in 1956, average February temperatures have climbed by 3.6° degrees Celsius, and forecasts predict more above-average temperatures during this month’s competition.

Overall, researchers warn that the number of reliable Winter Games hosts is shrinking. A 2024 studyExternal link found that of 93 mountain locations able to host elite winter sports today, only about 30 may remain by the 2080s, depending on how global emissions develop until then. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) prioritises hosts with at least 80% existing venues, narrowing the pool further.

The Switzerland-based IOC is now considering rotating the Games among a small permanent pool of suitable sites and shifting events earlier in the seasonExternal link. March is becoming too warm for the Paralympics, which traditionally follow the Winter Olympics.

Mega-events like the Olympics also carry considerable carbon footprints, largely due to construction and travel. New Swiss researchExternal link shows that Olympic Games between 2012 and 2024 emitted around 1.59–4.5 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂).

Winter Games usually emit less carbon than summer – around 1.0 to 1.5 million tonnes CO₂ – due to fewer athletes, smaller venues and lower operational demands. But even these smaller events can be disproportionately carbon intensive relative to their economic scale.

As the IOC weighs major reforms to address the Olympics’ carbon footprint, Switzerland is pitching a model for a more sustainable Games to be hosted in the country in 2038.

IOC: Games that are ‘as sustainable as possible’

“Our aim with every edition of the Olympic Games is to deliver an event that is as sustainable as possible, reducing its footprint while responding to the host region’s social, environmental and economic needs,” Julie Duffus, IOC Head of Sustainability, told Swissinfo.

She highlights stricter host-city rules since 2020, mandatory carbon accounting and a Host-City ContractExternal link requiring alignment with the Paris Agreement as examples of how the IOC is taking sustainability and climate change “very seriously”. She says the IOC also prioritises existing or temporary venues, climate-reliable locations, reduced construction, renewable energy and regionwide hosting models.

But Swiss researchers say a “persistent governance gap” remains: the IOC does not require emissions estimates during bidding, nor independent verification afterwards. This is especially problematic for the Winter Olympics, where inconsistent reporting in the past makes it difficult to establish a baseline or set credible targets, says Lausanne-based researcher David Gogishvili.

SWI swissinfo.ch

Gogishvili and his colleague, Martin Müller, propose a clearer pathway to reductions. Their researchExternal link outlines a roadmap to cut Olympic emissions – 48% by 2030 and 84% by 2050 – to align with the Paris Agreement. It argues against hosting mega-events and calls for a focus on regional spectators to curb long-distance air travel.

“The most difficult thing for the IOC and other major hosts to accept is that these mega‑events – in terms of size, scale and the number of athletes – ignore the climate crisis reality we are living in,” Gogishvili told Swissinfo.

Milan-Cortina ushers in a new era?

One IOC strategy for improving sustainability is staging Games across wider regions using more existing facilities. Milano–Cortina is the first major test, spread across three hubs, Milan, Cortina and Livigno, with only two new permanent venues. The next two Winter Games, in the French Alps in 2030 and Utah in 2034, will also be geographically dispersed.

Italy is reusing equipment from Paris 2024 and says 85% of its infrastructure is existing or temporary. Venues run on renewable energy and surplus food is donated.

But critics highlight contradictions. Despite sustainability claims, Milano–Cortina still required several new accommodation centres, and the new bobsleigh track in Cortina involved clearing hundreds of trees.

The sliding centre in Cortina was rebuilt against the wishes of the IOC, which preferred using an existing venue for bobsled, luge and skeleton in nearby Switzerland or Austria. AFP

Artificial snow production – 2.4 million cubic metres – also demands water, new reservoirs and expensive technology.

Large infrastructure projects, including road upgrades, have also been launched in northern Italy due to the Games. External linkThe bill has climbed from €1.5 billion to €5.7 billion, with numerous projects proceeding without environmental assessment, “despite commitments to sustainability and the promise of no burden on public finances,” notesExternal link CIPRA, the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps.

Campaigners estimateExternal link Milano–Cortina will generate around 930,000 tonnes of emissions, with the largest share – 410,000 tonnes – from spectator travel. This is lower than Pyeong-Chang in 2018 (1.64 million) but still significant, roughly the yearly emissions of a mid‑sized European city of around 200,000 inhabitants.

Activists also criticise sponsorship deals with oil and gas producer Eni, carmaker Stellantis and ITA Airways, which they say will induce an additional 1.3 million tonnes of carbon emissions. Greenpeace protested in Milan as the Olympic torch arrived, urging organisers to cut ties with Eni. The company says it recognises the urgency of climate change and is investing in the energy transition.

IOC president Kirsty Coventry acknowledged the organisation must “be better” on climate change after receiving a 21,000-signature petition calling for a ban on fossil fuel sponsors.

The Milano-Cortina organisers have planned for 2.4 million cubic metres of artificial snow to ensure white slopes during the Games. Keystone

How green will the Swiss Games be?

Switzerland is watching closely. The IOC has entered into a “privileged dialogue” with the Alpine country for the organisation of the 2038 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Switzerland 2038External link proposes competitions across the country but with no new venues and extensive public transport. Ten cantons and 14 municipalities have backed the project, which would hold about 120 competitions across ten sites. Lausanne may host the opening ceremony, with Bern hosting the closing. The federal government also supports the plan and has launched consultations on up to CHF200 million in funding. Most of the estimated CHF2.2 billion total budget would come from private partners and donors.

Switzerland last hosted the Games in 1948. Parliament is expected to decide on the 2038 bid later this year, with the possibility of a referendum on the issue if opponents gather enough signatures. Several earlier Swiss bids, such as those by St Moritz–Davos for 2022 and Valais for 2026, failed at the ballot box.

There is currently no organised opposition to the 2038 bid. Previous Swiss bids failed overwhelmingly due to cost and financial risks while environmental concerns were secondary.

“We are fully aware that, like any major international event, the Games have environmental impacts – even without new construction. Switzerland 2038 therefore plans to set clear, measurable and verifiable emissions reduction targets,” Frédéric Favre, director of Switzerland 2038, told Swissinfo. Targets will focus on mobility, energy, materials and temporary structures.

Further measures aim to shrink the carbon footprint. Public transport access could be bundled with tickets, and priority given to regional spectators.

‘Accountability is essential’

Environmental groups, including Pro Natura and WWF, have joined consultations.

But scepticism persists. Kaspar Schuler, former CIPRA director, argues that Olympics inevitably strain infrastructure, pointing to Milan Cortina 2026, where “lip service promises” were “disastrously not kept”, with 57% of projects incomplete before the Games and costs rising to €7 billion. “Why should it be different in Switzerland?” he asks.

Gogishvili says Switzerland 2038 appears to tick the right sustainability boxes but warns that accountability is essential. “Claims can be made but the important aspect is that they are science-based and how they are verified and become binding,” he said.

The biggest test may be international travel. If large numbers of fans still fly long haul to Switzerland in 2038, organisers may miss climate targets—just as travel made up 53% of Paris 2024’s carbon footprintExternal link.

Edited by Gabe Bullard/Veronica De Vore