Complete Bid Book – United Bid

24
Environmental Protection
24.2 Environmental Impact Assessment
The United Bid commissioned an independent
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to
identify risks, issues and opportunities for
responsible environmental protection and
enhancement throughout planning, staging,
and post-tournament legacy phases of the
2026 FIFA World Cup. The EIA
methodology was developed using
international best practice, with reference
to and analysis of Candidate Host City
environmental regulations and guidance,
FIFA’s requirements, best practice for global
sports events, relevant international standards
and protocols, and input from stakeholders.
The EIA provided: (1) an assessment of
the environmental baseline in Candidate
Host Cities; (2) an overview of potential
environmental impacts from staging the
Competition through materiality analysis; and
(3) recommended strategies for mitigating
impacts and providing environmental
enhancement.
The Environmental Baseline: The EIA
assessed existing environmental baselines
for a sampling of the Candidate Host Cities
which are representative of the range of
potential environmental conditions in Canada,
Mexico, and the United States. The baselines
vary as a function of existing environmental
challenges within the local and national
context. All cities face the need for energy
efficiency and reducing carbon emissions,
while also adapting and building resilience to
the threats from climate change.
The baseline conditions also revealed an
impressive range of environmental action
programs already in place across the
Candidate Host Cities on climate actions to
reduce carbon emissions, the use of zero
emission vehicles, increasing acceptance
of low-carbon, high-quality mass transit and
supporting a shift away from private motor
vehicles to promote cycling and walking, with
bike share schemes running in over 80%
of the cities analyzed.
Improving climate preparedness and
increasing the amount of green infrastructure
and urban tree canopies feature heavily within
the sustainability and resilience plans of many
of the Candidate Host Cities. In tandem with
changing patterns and types of mass transit,
these measures are helping to mitigate the
effects of severe weather from climate change
and to tackle issues of urban air pollution,
biodiversity loss, and flood risk.
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