The world’s attention will turn to South Africa this summer as it hosts the 2010 World Cup. The recent focus on making international events ‘green’ has put the pressure on organisers to shape up and while officials say they’re on track, critics disagree.

This summer, South Africa will play host to the FIFA World Cup, the first African nation to have the opportunity to do so. The attention and economic boom that go hand in hand with such an event will be a great boost for the country, but with the good comes the bad.    

This year’s tournament will generate an estimated 2.75 million tonnes of carbon emissions, nine times that of the German games in 2006, with fans travelling from all over the globe to see their teams play. The emphasis on ‘green games’ is putting the pressure on South Africa to deal with the environmental impact of an international event in the country, and while officials say they’ve got the right game plan, critics argue otherwise. 

For the time being, South Africa’s environmental credentials certainly leave room for improvement: Space 
is running out as the country continues to landfill 92 per cent of its waste; 75 per cent of the country’s energy comes from coal – a trend that looks set to continue as the World Bank just approved a £2.4 billion pound loan to build a huge coal-fired power station that will 
emit 25 million tonnes of CO2 per annum; currently, power and water shortages are frequent. 

With this in mind, the government’s official line in terms of the football finals is: ‘South Africa strives to remain on top of global environmental management best practice through lessons learnt from the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and new initiatives which, combined, will deliver a 2010 event with a minimal ecological footprint.’ Certainly investment in the games has been high and much needed infrastructure improvements have been implemented across the nine host cities. Recycling bins have popped up with unique designs to encourage use, with 500 in and around Cape Town airport alone. Water conservation projects are underway and transport has been dramatically improved with 11.7 billion rand (more than £1 billion) allocated to transport projects focused on upgrading public transport, road infrastructure and the railway. It is estimated that the World Cup finals will contribute 415,400 jobs to the South African economy, as well as 19.3 billion rand in income tax. The knock-on effect will hopefully be one that South Africa can build on.