The World Cup was meant to be carbon-neutral. FIFA hasn’t released the figures, so we built a computer model to check

When the US, Canada, and Mexico bid to host the twenty twenty-six World Cup, they promised a carbon-neutral event. The tournament has wrapped with nearly seven million spectators—almost double the last North American hosting—but FIFA still hasn't published any emissions figures. So researchers built a model to find out. Per The Conversation, their analysis estimates three point two million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. That's lower than the original bid projection of three point seven million tonnes, and well below environmental groups' pre-tournament forecasts of up to nine million tonnes. The reason: no new stadiums were built. All sixteen venues already existed. Travel still drove nearly nine out of every ten tonnes of emissions, but without brand-new stadium construction, the footprint stayed leaner than feared. One crucial unknown remains: how many spectators traveled internationally versus stayed within North America. Border agencies will release that data starting in August—a number that could shift the final total considerably in either direction.

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