Climate Takes A Back Seat: Saudi Arabia Will Host 2034 FIFA World Cup - Forbes

Climate Takes A Back Seat: Saudi Arabia Will Host 2034 FIFA World Cup
Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, FIFA President Gianni Infantino and President Wladimir Putin of ... [+] Russia look on during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group A match between Russia and Saudi Arabia at Luzhniki Stadium on June 14, 2018 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Amin Mohammad Jamali/Getty Images)

On October 4th, FIFA selected the hosts for the 2030 World Cup, and unprecedentedly moved the timeline forward to select the hosts for 2034. Nations in Oceania and Asia - the only potential host locations due to FIFA’s rotation policy - were given until October 31st to present their candidacies. Within minutes, Saudi Arabia formally submitted its bid to host. Indonesia discussed a potential joint bid with Malaysia, Singapore and Australia, but eventually backed the Saudi bid. Australia decided to focus on bids for the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup and the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup, leaving Saudi Arabia as the sole bidder, and now host, for the 2034 FIFA World Cup.

There are a myriad of issues with FIFA essentially gifting the World Cup hosting rights to the Gulf kingdom, but perhaps none more paramount than climate. According to the World Bank’s Climate Change Knowledge Portal, the desert kingdom has summer temperatures that can reach as high as 43℃ (109℉), but average annual rainfall is below 150mm (5.9 in) in most of the country. Extreme heat and water scarcity are only expected to increase as climate change worsens.

In fact, in the Climate Futures Report: Saudi Arabia in a 3-Degrees Warmer World, scholars found that the Arabian Peninsula “has already warmed at a rate 50% higher than other landmasses in the northern hemisphere.” The study also states that “global temperature rise due to the accumulation of greenhouse gas emissions will cause Saudi Arabia to experience rapid changes in its climate patterns which will profoundly impact the health and wellbeing of people,” amongst other things. Which begs the question: why host a 48-team mega-event in a region that is already warming faster than most?
TOPSHOT - This picture taken on May 17, 2022 shows a view of the monorail station and skyline of the ... [+] King Abdullah Financial District in the Aqeeq area of Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh during a heavy dust storm. - A sandstorm engulfed Saudi Arabia's capital and other regions of the desert kingdom on May 17, hampering visibility and slowing road traffic. The thick grey haze made iconic Riyadh buildings such as Kingdom Centre nearly impossible to see from more than a few hundred metres (yards) away, though there were no announced flight delays or cancellations. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Despite FIFA’s “commitment” to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it has bent over backwards to allow Saudi Arabia to host a World Cup. FIFA requires fourteen suitable stadiums to be put forward in a World Cup host bid, and up until now it demanded that seven of the stadia already exist. Now football’s governing body has reduced that number to four, simultaneously bending the rules for the Saudis, while forcing them to pour more funds into infrastructure projects to meet the mandatory fourteen stadium requirement. The motivations for this can and should be discussed, but what is clear is that the environmental ramifications of hosting a desert tournament in a climate-affected world were not considered.

Barney Weston, Co-Founder of Football for Future, says that “FIFA is primarily responsible for the environmental ramifications of World Cups, and it begins with the bidding process.” He notes the contradictions that exist in the current process that are driving the need for new carbon intensive infrastructure projects. He believes climate was not at the heart of this hosting decision and is calling on FIFA to “review the bidding process to ensure carbon and environmental sustainability are genuinely considered across all the risk factors and prioritised by potential hosts.”

As the climate continues to worsen - we are currently on track to break 1.5℃ by 2029- the risk for players and fans rises. In all likelihood, this tournament will need to be moved to the winter - interrupting the domestic club season - in order to avoid the highest of temperatures. Moreover, stadiums will need to be air conditioned, games will need to be played late in the evenings and hydration will be a key factor. However, there is no guarantee that the water supply will be plentiful enough to host not only 47 visiting teams but millions of traveling spectators.
Photo taken on June 28, 2021 shows the industrial estate of Saudi oil giant Aramco in Dammam, Saudi ... [+] Arabia. (Photo by Hu Guan/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Freddie Daley of the Cool Down Network is in agreement. He says that while the true extent of the environmental ramifications of this tournament will only become apparent nearer the opening ceremony, “Saudi Arabia in 2034 will be totally inhospitable to both fans and players.” He notes that “vast amounts of energy will be required for cooling stadiums and hotels, as well as desalinating the water required to deal with huge influxes of fans.” But he questions the environmental cost of undertaking such mammoth infrastructure projects for the sake of a one-month tournament.

Worst of all, the host nation is directly responsible for the continuation of climate change. While Saudi Arabia claims to be diversifying its economy away from fossil fuels, it remains the largest oil producer in the world, with oil extraction making up 46% of the kingdom’s GDP. For Saudi Arabia to align itself with the target of maintaining warming to a maximum of 1.5℃ it would have to reduce its emissions by 51% by 2030. Unfortunately there are no signs of that happening yet.

Moving forward, major changes will need to be made to the bidding process to host World Cups, and across the global economy, in order to ensure that the 2034 World Cup and all subsequent tournaments can be played and enjoyed in adequate conditions. At the moment, environmental concerns are taking a back seat at FIFA, and thus it is hard to imagine the 2034 World Cup being played in anything other than scorching temperatures with no little to no water in sight.