Is the World Cup really carbon neutral?

As the COP27 climate change conference concludes in Egypt this week, the attention of climate experts is turning to the football World Cup in Qatar, the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East.

Organisers have claimed that the tournament, which begins with an opening ceremony in the Al Bayt stadium on Sunday, will be environmentally friendly and carbon neutral.

However, some climatologists are expressing doubts over those claims.

The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy is the body responsible for the success of the World Cup in Qatar, a tournament like no other in terms of the criticism it has faced because of the Gulf state's human rights record.

In an effort to prove their environmental credentials, Qatar and FIFA have pledged that this World Cup will be carbon neutral, a claim that many people are questioning.

The first World Cup to be held in the Middle East will need at least 10,000 litres of water every day for each of its stadium pitches and the more than 130 additional training grounds.

World Football's governing body, FIFA, and Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy said they have committed to reducing and offsetting all carbon emissions related to the games, which begin on Sunday when the hosts play Ecuador, and that they plan to have a carbon neutral World Cup.

However, many people dispute those claims.

Professor John Sweeney of Maynooth University told RTÉ News that it was not a sensible decision from a climate point of view to have the World Cup in such a hot country, even in winter.

The water demands alone are huge.

The tournament will need to manage pitches across eight stadiums, and more than 130 additional training grounds.

Professor Sweeney is a climatologist who is querying the carbon