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CHINA: Greening of the Games

Omid Memarian

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 7 2008 (IPS) - Though human rights and environmental issues – such as censorship and pollution in Beijing – have been the two major focuses of criticism levelled against the Chinese government during the lead up to the Olympic games, Achim Steiner, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), is expected to address some of Beijing’s environmental successes during the opening ceremonies.

In continuing support for the Greening of the Games initiative, Steiner will take part in the Olympic Torch Relay before attending the opening ceremony. He will also meet with Zhou Shengxian, China's environment minister, and Wan Gang, the minister for science and technology.

Steiner "will definitely address all the environmental issues, Theodore Oben, UNEP chief of sports and the environment, told IPS in a telephone interview from Beijing. "We have to see after the Games," Oben said, when asked about the environmental impact of the games.

The Games will have a positive environmental legacy if the new environmental standards and measures taken for Beijing are adopted countrywide, according to UNEP.

"I have been monitoring the press reports on Chinese government’s effort on making the Beijing Olympics Games environmentally friendly," said Xiao Qiang, director of the China Internet Project and adjunct professor at the Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. "I actually think the government made huge efforts," Xiao told IPS.

"Some efforts and investments are very positive, but some other efforts are purely administrative and cosmetic measures, such as closing many heavy polluters [factories] around Beijing just for Olympics," explained Xiao, who is also the founder and editor-in-chief of the on-line news portal ‘China Digital Times: covering China from cyberspace’.

The use of a facemask by some of the athletes has been a major slap in the face of organisers who strived to portray Beijing as a green city, at least during the games. Shutting down factories and restricting automobile travel have been two methods adopted by the government in order to decrease the pollution.

Among the 596 members of the American delegation to the games, Mike Friedman, Bobby Lea, Sarah Hammer and Jennie Reed were among about 200 athletes who wore masks to avoid exposure to airborne pollution in Beijing.

UNEP has been working with the Beijing Olympic Committee for the last three years in an effort to make the summer games environmentally friendly.

In 2007, following an agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), UNEP measured the Beijing Games’ performance against the environmental commitments outlined in their bid. The report cited the 17 billion dollars Beijing spent on a large-scale green drive ahead of the games, including a series of long-term environmental improvements for the city. As part of this, the city has introduced tougher standards for vehicle emissions and phased out ozone-depleting substances. The authorities have also expanded Beijing's public transport network with three new subway lines and the introduction of some 3,800 compressed natural gas buses – one of the largest fleets of in any city in the world.

The Olympic venues themselves have incorporated many green features: 20 percent of their energy comes from clean wind sources, solar power features prominently in the Olympic Village, and the Bird's Nest stadium has an advanced rainwater recycling system.

The UNEP report also noted that there is room for improvement in areas such as air quality, offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions and public awareness- raising.

Steiner will visit several of the green facilities built for the Olympics – including Beijing's newly inaugurated subway lines and the Solar Wall, 2,000 square metres of solar panels.

In the second half of 2008, UNEP will produce a Post-Games Environmental Report in order to assess the successes and challenges of the environmental measures taken by Beijing for the 2008 games.

There remain concerns that protests organised by environmental and human rights activists will face harsh reactions from the Chinese government.

There is continued censorship of certain websites, bringing the Chinese government’s promises to provide free access to the internet into question.

Kevan Gosper, press commission chairman of the IOC, issued a public apology on Jul. 30, admitting that IOC officials had agreed with the Chinese government’s plans to censor certain websites during the 2008 Games. This occurred despite the IOC’s many pledges since 2001 that the media would have "full, open and free internet access during the Games."

According to Human Rights Watch, the IOC’s admission that it consented to Chinese government censorship of certain websites ends the debate over whether the Olympics will promote rights in China.

On the other hand, the U.N. refugee agency and the IOC launched the "Giving is Winning" Campaign in the Olympic Village last week to encourage athletes and national Olympic Committees to recycle surplus sportswear for use by refugees in Asia.

"Refugee youth have often suffered terribly and witnessed war first hand," said António Guterres, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). "Some refugees are born in camps; others grow up in camps, which can mean a lifetime with little or no access to sport or recreation. The gift of sportswear from Olympic athletes around the globe inspires refugees and connects them to the world of sports. Beyond happiness it brings them hope," he explained.

During the past year, in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics, the initial goal of collecting 50,000 items of sports clothing has nearly been met. The items collected so far have been distributed to refugees in Rwanda, Tanzania, Chad, Moldova, Georgia and Panama.

"I am thrilled by this success and the strong support of the Olympic Family so far," IOC President Jacques Rogge said. "Of course we want to go much higher now – the bigger impact we can make with this campaign, the better. I am convinced that with our common efforts we can collect many more items."

Former Ukrainian pole vaulter Sergey Bubka, now chairman of the IOC Athletes Commission said it should be easy to meet the goal, with more than 10,000 athletes participating in the Games.

"I am confident that many of my colleagues will recognise the value of this project and be eager to contribute," Bubka said. "It really is so easy to participate. Sport has given a lot to all of us and it is great to be able to give back a bit by bringing joy to refugees."

Far too many young refugees spend years languishing in bleak camps around the world, UNHCR's Regional Representative for China and Mongolia, Veerapong Vongvarotai said. The "Giving is Winning" recycling initiative was first established at the Athens Olympics in 2004 when more than 30,000 items were collected to support sports among young refugees in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Eritrea, Kosovo and Tanzania.