US Olympic Team to Bring Air Conditioners to Paris Games Despite Environmental Concerns

Despite Olympic organizers' plans to cut carbon emissions, the U.S. and several other national sports federations will provide their athletes with air conditioning units at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.

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US Olympic Team to Bring Air Conditioners to Paris Games Despite Environmental Concerns

The U.S. Olympic team and several other national sports federations have announced that they will supply their athletes with air conditioners at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, despite Olympic organizers' environmental plans to reduce carbon emissions.

Olympic organizers have promoted plans to use a system of cooling pipes underneath floors to cool rooms in the Athletes Village, which will house over 15,000 Olympians and sports officials during the Summer Games. However, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) CEO Sarah Hirshland stated that the U.S. team would be providing its athletes with AC units during the Games.

US Olympic Team to Bring Air Conditioners to Paris Games Despite Environmental Concerns

"We will have air conditioning in the rooms in the village," Hirshland said. "We have great respect for the work that's been done by the Paris Organizing Committee in particular, and their focus on sustainability. And I know that there have been lots of questions around the consistency of that, coupled with the air conditioning."

Hirshland emphasized the importance of consistency and predictability for Team USA's performance and cited athlete feedback as a key factor in the decision to bring AC units.

US Olympic Team to Bring Air Conditioners to Paris Games Despite Environmental Concerns

Other countries that plan to bring air conditioners to the Paris Games include Germany, Australia, Italy, Canada, and Great Britain. Japan is also considering bringing units for its athletes.

The average high temperature in Paris on August 1 is 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit), and the goal of the organizers' environmental plan is to keep the rooms between 23-26 degrees Celsius (73-79 degrees Fahrenheit). The rooms will also have fans, according to the plan.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo expressed her desire for the Paris Games to be exemplary from an environmental perspective.

Fewer than one in ten households in Europe have air conditioning, and the number of households in Paris that have it is even lower, according to the International Energy Agency. The agency also noted that of the 1.6 billion AC units used worldwide in 2016, over half were in China (570 million) and the U.S. (375 million), while the entire European Union had around 100 million.

France has had to spend $1.5 billion to clean the Seine River in preparation for aquatic events at the Summer Games, as the river remains too polluted to accommodate the sports, according to Newsweek.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.