A cleaner FIFA World Cup: 1.6 million kilograms of CO2 in emissions prevented through electric buses at Qatar 2022

Since receiving the rights to organise the 2022 FIFA World Cup with their bid being successful in 2010, Qatar has vowed to put on the best-ever edition of the competition and one that is sustainable, accessible, and carbon-neutral, with huge strides made in these directions.

Solar panels have been mounted in several stadiums to generate clean energy, a revolutionary metro line was built in less than nine years, and hundreds of electric buses were bought to create an excellent experience.

The goal was to offset all greenhouse gas emissions while advancing low-carbon solutions in Qatar and the region. A carbon-neutral tournament is delivered through a four-step process: awareness, measurement, reduction, and offsetting, as renewable energy solutions were planned and implemented wherever possible, while the cooling systems of the stadiums were also powered by solar panels.

Now, the first results are there to be seen, with the Qatari public transport company – Mowasalat – announcing that during the first half of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, its electric vehicles transported passengers over a distance of more than 1.8 million kilometres, which prevented over 1.6 million kilograms of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Qatar 2022 is the first FIFA World Cup edition where the host country introduced and used a large fleet of electric vehicles – from buses to taxis, which greatly reduced the environmental impact of the mega sporting event, which lasts 29 days and scheduled 64 matches.

As the stadiums are all grouped in a 50-kilometre radius, with the most compact FIFA World Cup edition in history delivered by Qatar, the movement of the fans between the venues is also reduced, helping prevent more CO2 emissions from being sent into the air.

According to the Qatari public transport company, Mowasalat e-buses are built to meet the local weather conditions, which see temperatures rise to over 30 degrees Celsius even in wintertime, and are equipped with state-of-the-art technology to ensure a safe, smooth and sustainable ride.

In order to deliver excellent competition, without any hitches, Qatar has amassed a huge fleet of electric buses, over 1000 that are travelling daily between the venues, hotels, and cities.

“All electric bus charging stations are working at full capacity. Fast charging stations have also been installed at various places across the country,” aid Khalid Kafoud, Director of Public Relations and Communications at Mowasalat.

Mowasalat also has over 1,600 hybrid buses, the latest diesel powered fleet, working with euro-6 engines and using RW technology to remove negative effects caused by the smoke of vehicles.

Mowasalat also stated that over 4000 buses are operated in total for the FIFA World Cup, of which 3000 are dedicated to transporting fans, with 1000 of them being fully electric. The transportation services include transportation to and from metro stations and tournament stadiums, transportation to and from “park and move” stops, and transportation service from the main residences in and to Doha, in addition to the shuttle bus service dedicated to linking Hamad and Doha International Airports with the stadiums and central Doha, as well as the express bus service to the stadiums, which will provide fans with transportation between all venues for sporting events.

“The successful completion of this colossal exercise to test the transportation readiness of Qatar during Qatar 2022 is a further testament to our country’s readiness in hosting the global event,” said Fahad Al Qahtani, CEO of Mowasalat.

The public transport fleet during the World Cup will leave a legacy for the sustainable transportation system of Qatar, according to Mowasalat, with a new way to embrace public transport in the Middle Eastern country, which has definitely improved over the past decade.