Olympicks: Impact of New CO2 Refrigeration Systems Comparable to Planting 1.2M Trees
In OlymPicks, we highlight news, gossip, and developments regarding the buildup to Beijing's 2022 Winter Olympics.
Officials Praise Beijing's Greening of the Games
You could plant 1.2 million trees. You could bar 3,900 cars from the road. Or you could operate the new high-tech ice venues at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Experts are comparing these impressive ecological statistics to the impact of the new, natural CO2 powered refrigeration systems that will be used to cool the venues of the 2022 speed skating, figure skating, and short track events. CO2 has long been considered an environmentally-friendly refrigerant, but until recent times production costs were too high to make such landmark applications such as this feasible.
The cutting-edge, clean energy facilities were shown to the International Olympic Committees (IOC) Coordination Commission during their visit to Beijing this week, who were so impressed that IOC Coordination Commission chair Juan Antonio Samaranch told reporters: "This is a landmark decision which could potentially help address the issue of climate change, both in China and even globally."
Beijing's Olympic hockey and curling venues will also be outfitted with a low emissions refrigerant, helping to make the Games far greener than they otherwise would have been. The efforts are part of a larger United Nations Sports for Climate Action framework that sees the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Games going similarly green.
IOC Pleased with Beijing’s Olympic Progress
During the three day visit to assess Beijing's readiness for the 2022 Games, the IOC Coordination Commission was full of praise for the Chinese capital's preparations.
As well as visiting Beijing, Samaranch and his colleagues also inspected skiing and snowboarding facilities in Zhangjiakou and Yanqing, announcing to the press that the Chinese capital is on track for the Games. "Everything is going as it is expected to go," Samaranch said to Chinese state media, as reported by Inside the Games. "We are very comfortable with the efficiency and delivery that the Beijing organizers are giving us ... The venue constructions are going according to plan and even have some advancements to the plan ... The venues will be world-class.”
Their visit marks the fourth time the Commission has come for an inspection since Beijing successfully snagged its Olympic bid in July 2015.
Learn More About 2022 Olympic Sustainability at This Jul 27 Event
You don't have to be an Olympic official (or a writer here at the Beijinger) to learn more about Beijing's progress ahead of the Games. Get the inside scoop on the capital's sustainability initiatives for both before and after the Games at Roca Gallery on Jul 27 (in Chinese), where a handful of experts will be on hand to speak about the sustainable design of Beijing 2022 Olympic venues, officials' plans to reuse those venues for future events, and other such environmentally friendly practices.
READ: Will Beijing's 2022 Sporting Venues Go to Waste?
More stories by this author here.
Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
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Photo: PTW Architects
