FIFA’s claims over carbon-neutral Qatar 2022 World Cup found to be misleading

World football governing body FIFA has been found by a Swiss regulator to have misled fans over claims of a ‘carbon-neutral Qatar World Cup’.

The Swiss Commission for Fairness in Commercial Communication (SLK), which regulates advertising in Switzerland, has this week upheld complaints from bodies in five European countries against FIFA regarding claims it made that Qatar’s 2022 World Cup was a carbon-neutral tournament.

The SLK, which handles complaints from consumers, competitors and other interested parties, found that FIFA broke rules against unfair competition by making claims about the tournament that could not be proven, while using controversial offsetting measures that would not comply with Swiss standards.

The organisations submitting the complaint - Fossil Free Football and Reclame Fossielvrij in the Netherlands, New Weather Institute in the UK, Alliance Climatique in Switzerland, Notre Affaire à tous in France and Carbon Market Watch in Belgium - had claimed that FIFA’s claim that the World Cup in Qatar was ‘climate neutral’ was misleading.

This was based on a report released by Carbon Market Watch, a non-profit association with expertise in carbon pricing, in May 2022 which questioned claims made by organisers of the World Cup that the tournament would be the first carbon-neutral event of its kind.

Research from Carbon Market Watch suggested that Qatar 2022’s goal would be achieved through “creative accounting” rather than actually reaching a carbon footprint of net zero.

The report stated that calculations used by World Cup organisers ignored some “major sources of emissions” and that the credits being purchased to offset them have a “low level of environmental integrity”.

Carbon Market Watch cited the emissions associated with the construction of permanent new stadiums as one of the main reasons why Qatar 2022’s carbon-neutrality claim appeared “far-fetched”.

The group said that the emissions impact could be understated by a factor of eight.

In September 2021, Qatar 2022 organisers detailed plans to deliver the first carbon-neutral World Cup in the history of the event. Organisers cited the short distance between stadiums and the use of solar power at venues as ways to achieve the carbon-neutral goal.

Following this week’s ruling, SLK today said it has upheld the complaints following an “arduous and complex process”.

When reaching its decision, the Commission said it considered in detail the requirements that must be fulfilled when advertising carbon neutrality and that factual claims must be accurate by law and must not be misleading.

Based in Switzerland, FIFA, a signatory to the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework, through which it is committed to a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2040, has been warned to “refrain” from making such claims again.

Media reports suggest it is considering an appeal.

Images: FIFA's haeadquarters in the Swiss city of Zurich (top) and Qatar Lusail Stadium (below, credit: Shutterstock).