The World Cup, which concluded in South Africa on Sunday, produced a carbon footprint of 2,753,250 tons of CO2 equivalent, according to a new study by Ernst & Young.
The impact was roughly eight times greater than that of the previous World Cup in Germany, due to the great distance teams and fans had to travel to reach venues at the tip of the African continent. International travel was responsible for 67.4% of the total emissions.
Intercity travel between game venues was the second largest contributor at 17.6%, while energy use for accomodations came in third at 12.4%.
The Ernst & Young report offers seven suggestions for decreasing the environmental impact of the next World Cup, located in Brazil in 2014.
Although international travel is likely to be as intensive as it was this year, the study says Brazil can do more to promote water conservation, recycling, energy conservation and sustainable building practices.
In addition, FIFA–the international governing body for the sport–can step up its efforts to promote sustainable lifestyles through its program "The Green Goal," launched in 2006.
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