The 2026 World Cup Is Lying About Its Climate Impact. I Did the Maths
If you run a business, build climate strategy, or sit on a board that has ever published a sustainability target, this is the most important case study of 2026, and almost nobody is talking about it honestly.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off in June. FIFA say the tournament will produce 3.7 million tonnes of CO2. Independent researchers put the real figure closer to 9 million tonnes. Some estimates, when you include everything, run as high as 70 million.
In the next ten minutes I am going to show you exactly how that gap was created. The fossil fuel sponsor FIFA signed after promising sustainability. The stadiums where players are about to play in dangerous heat. And the two enormous emissions sources FIFA quietly left out of their official number.
But the reason this matters is not really about football. It is about your business. Because what FIFA did here is the same template I see organisations use every week to make their climate claims look better than they are. By the end of this video, you will know exactly what to look for in your own organisation, and what to push back on.
I have spent twenty five years in sustainability consulting. Let's get into it.
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I'm Will Richardson, Head of Ecosystems at 51toCarbonZero and a sustainability advisor with 25 years in the field. I founded Green Element in 2004 and spent two decades building it into one of Europe's most respected sustainability consultancies before it merged with 51toCarbonZero in November 2025. Climate action is both an obligation and an opportunity, and that's the thread running through everything I write here. I co-created Compare Your Footprint, carbon accounting software recognised as a key player in the Global Carbon Accounting Software Market, and I'm a Fellow of IEMA and a Chartered Environmentalist. Each week, I break down what's actually happening in sustainability: the data, the regulation, the greenwash worth calling out, and the practical steps businesses can take right now. No jargon, no doom-mongering, just clear thinking for people who need to make real decisions. I also host the Sustainability Solved podcast with Charlie Luxton, 200+ episodes and counting, where we talk to the people building the solutions. Based in Scotland. Writing for business leaders who want sustainability to make commercial sense, not just moral sense.
