7th World Conference on Sport and the Environment - International ...

Report
4.2. Plenary 1 – Environmental Sustainability in the Olympic Games:
From Concept to Practice
4.2.1. Opening presentation
Hein Verbruggen, Chairman of the Coordination Commission for the Games
of the XXIX Olympiad
I am pleased to attend this important <strong>7th</strong> <strong>World</strong> <strong>Conference</strong> on Sport and the Environment. It is inspiring
to have such a remarkable group of experts here in Beijing to contribute their valuable knowledge. Your
work over the next two days will help define new ways in which sport and the environment can mutually
benefit each other.
They say that a diplomat is someone who thinks twice before saying nothing. I can understand the
temptation to follow that example when speaking about the environment in Beijing. This magnificent city
faces complex environmental challenges to overcome in a very short period of time.
I am not an expert on environmental matters. But as Chairman of the Beijing Coordination Commission,
I am very aware that this is an area that is crucial to hosting a successful Beijing Games. I am also
fully convinced that Beijing’s commitment to improving its environment is of the highest priority. Let’s
remember that this work didn’t begin yesterday. The commitment began years ago, and we can see real
progress in new green areas, technologies and municipal policies.
Looking at the historical big picture, the Beijing Sustainable Development Plan is a good example of
advances made beginning in 1998. At a total cost of US $ 12.2 billion, of which US $ 3.6 billion already
has been spent, 20 key anti-pollution projects have been implemented. They include the removal or
alteration of factories, conversion of enterprises from coal to gas energy supplies and planting of green
areas across the city. By the time the Games begin next year, over 200 polluting enterprises will have
been relocated away from the Beijing city centre.
These improvements have been made at the same time Beijing has tried to accommodate dramatic
growth in its economy. A major migration of people from the countryside to Beijing has posed difficult
challenges, including an estimated 1,000 new automobiles registered in the city each day.
In spite of this development growth, almost 100 measures have been implemented to improve the quality
of Beijing’s environment. Among them, air quality has received special attention. During the Olympic
Games period in August next year, Beijing will have taken measures to reduce concentrations of SO 2
, NO 2
and O 3
to levels in line with <strong>World</strong> Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines – in effect reducing particles in
the air to qualities accepted in the world’s major developed cities.
Drinking water in Beijing will also meet WHO standards. Sewage treatment in the urban centre as well as
satellite urban areas will reach 90 percent, with a reclamation rate of 50 percent.
Today, as we continue our mission of turning “plan into action”, I want to give you a more recent concrete
example of how change is happening all around us in Beijing. It is also a simple example of how the
Olympic Games can contribute to environmental sustainability.
In August, careful studies of air quality were conducted during the Good Luck Beijing test events. During
four days of traffic restrictions between August 1<strong>7th</strong> and 20th, the concentration of nitrogen dioxide in
Beijing’s air was reduced by an average of 20%. The data that was gathered by monitoring groups will be
turned into action for a revised “Air Quality Action Plan for the Games of the 29th Olympiad”.
Now, some people may say that one monitoring sample based on reduced traffic will only have a
temporary local benefit. Not true. The Beijing Municipal Environment Protection Bureau stated that the
test will become a “meaningful reference for long-term environmental protection management”. As the
capital city, it will set an example for other cities in China.
This morning you will hear from Zhao Fengtong, Vice Mayor of Beijing. He will explain how the city has
dedicated enormous capital and human resources to improving environmental conditions in Beijing, all
part of its bid commitment. The benefits that Beijing and greater China will see from this will extend far
beyond the closing ceremony next year.
<strong>7th</strong> <strong>World</strong> <strong>Conference</strong> on Sport and the Environment
International Cooperation and Development Dept.
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