How this calculator works
An Olympic Games footprint covers construction or renovation of venues, energy use during the event, travel by athletes, officials and spectators, and temporary facilities. The reported totals have ranged from about 0.12 million tonnes in Vancouver in 2010, helped by existing venues and a compact plan, to about 3.6 million tonnes in Rio and Sochi. Paris 2024 targeted 1.58 million tonnes by using existing or temporary venues, public transport and low-carbon construction. Because methods differ between Games, the numbers here are indicative rather than strictly comparable. The calculator adds your own trip: distance times two for a return trip, times the emission factor for your mode, times the number of travellers. Comparing that with the Games total shows how a small number of individual trips adds up to a large part of the event footprint.
Formula
your trip (kg CO2e) = one-way distance x 2 for a return trip x kg CO2e per passenger-kilometre x travellers. The factors are 0.15 for a plane, 0.17 for a petrol car shared by the group and 0.041 for a train. Your share = your trip / (Games total in Mt x 1,000,000,000). The chart plots the reported totals by year.
Worked example
Two travellers flying 5,000 km each way to Paris and back: 5,000 x 2 x 0.15 = 1,500 kg CO2e per person, or 3,000 kg for the pair. Against the 1.58 Mt reported for Paris 2024, that is 3,000 / 1,580,000,000 = 0.00019 percent of the total. Taking the train instead at 0.041 kg per kilometre would give 410 kg per person, or 820 kg for the pair.
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Frequently asked questions
Are the Games footprints comparable between years?
Only roughly. Each organising committee sets its own boundary: some include spectator travel, some do not; some count only the event period, some include construction. The IOC has pushed for a common method, but the published totals still differ in scope.
What is the biggest part of a Games footprint?
Usually travel, especially spectator and athlete flights, followed by construction and energy. LA28 has said it will use existing venues and public transport specifically to avoid the construction and car travel that dominated earlier Games.
Do carbon offsets make the Games carbon neutral?
Most Games have bought offsets to claim neutrality. Offsets fund reductions elsewhere and do not remove the emissions from the atmosphere at the source, so their quality and permanence vary. The footprint figure here is before any offset purchase.
Why does Vancouver look so low?
Vancouver 2010 reported about 0.12 Mt for the Games operations, benefiting from existing venues, a compact host region and a clean electricity grid. Even so, the figure may exclude some travel that other Games include, so read the comparison with care.