Written question asked by Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 12 July 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 14 July 2005. It was answered by Baroness Jowell (Labour) on Monday, 18 July 2005 on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Olympics 2012

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she plans to take to minimise the carbon footprint of the 2012 Olympics.

Answer: Achieving a sustainable games was a strong element of London's bid for the 2012 Olympics. A key part of London 2012's plans, as set out in Theme 5 of their Candidate File, was for a ““low carbon”” games.Venues will be designed to optimise energy efficiency and to make use of low carbon and renewable energy sources. All spectators will travel to the games by public transport, or by cycling or walking. The vehicles for the Olympic family will comply with strict low-emission standards.There will also be a comprehensive carbon-offset programme to ““neutralise”” all the unavoidable carbon emissions caused by overseas participants travelling to the games in 2012, as well as the organisation's own staff travel during the preparation phase, by supporting the installation of renewable energy projects in developing countries.

Secondary information