Greenpeace’s assessment and expectations for 2022 Winter Olympics environmental commitment

Greenpeace’s assessment and expectations for the environmental commitments of the 2022 Winter Olympics

July 31st, 2015 Greenpeace

It has been announced today that Beijing and Zhangjiakou (Hebei province) have won the bid to jointly host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. With this successful bid, Beijing becomes the only city in the world to host both the summer and the winter Olympic Games.

Hosting the 2022 Winter Olympic Games is an opportunity for Beijing and its surrounding provinces and cities – including Hebei and Tianjin – to improve their environment. Furthermore, the event must leave the region and the country with a lasting green legacy. The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games have left behind some important environmental lessons for China, the benefits of which are still felt seven years later. Beijing has all the more reason, with China’s overall plan of economic transformation and a public call for a greener, cleaner country, to exceed its environmental achievements of 2008. The 2022 Winter Olympic Games provide a historic opportunity for the region to take the leap to become a truly green economy. The lessons from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games can act as important reference points for Beijing and Zhangjiakou during their preparations over the next seven years. Lessons and legacies include: Air quality ● Relocated polluting factories, upgraded coal-fired boilers, optimized energy structure, and upgraded industrial technology ● Increased public transportation capacity ● Improved vehicle emission standards and replaced a large number of diesel buses with natural gas buses Energy ● Built the first wind farm in Beijing – Guanting Wind Farm ● Used solar photovoltaic (solar PV) power generation systems in seven Olympic venues ● Upgraded coal-burning boilers ● Extensively adopted the use of solar lamps Water resources and treatment ● Substantially increased wastewater treatment plants, sewage systems and water reuse systems ● Used water-saving designs including rainwater utilization, water utilization efficiency improvement, recycled water use, and water-saving facilities in Olympic venues After the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the Beijing Municipal Government continued to carry out environmental protection and improvements in the above mentioned aspects. Specific performance and focused areas include the following:

Beijing was one of the first cities in China to include PM2.5, carbon monoxide, and ozone, in its air pollutant monitoring, as required by China’s new “Ambient Air Quality Standards” that came into effect on January 1, 2013.1 In the “Beijing Clean Air Action Plan 2013-2017”,2 the city set a target of an annual mean PM2.5 concentration of approximately 60 μg/m3 by 2017, through measures such as shutting down more coal-fired power plants, tackling the “three highs” (factories with high pollution, high energy consumption, and high industrial emissions), and developing milestone targets to gradually make the central urbanised areas of Beijing coal-free.3 By the end of 2014, renewable energy accounted for 5.5% of Beijing’s total energy consumption.

Solar PV power generation capacity reached around 200,000 kilowatts, and the utilisation of geothermal and heat pumps exceeded 46 million square meters.4 Beijing’s public transportation capacity was expanded to a total of 1200 bus routes, 17 metro lines, and 50,000 public bicycles.

Beijing also escalated its plan to phase out old polluting vehicles. Over 1.62 million vehicles, including buses and private cars, were taken off the streets.5 The biggest lesson from the 2008 Olympic Games, though, has been the realisation that merely moving dirty industries from Beijing to neighbouring provinces does not bring lasting air quality improvements to Beijing. Deteriorating air quality in the following years highlighted the regional nature of the problem, which requires a systematic solution rather than an “out of sight, out of mind” approach.

For the rest of China, the biggest environmental legacy left by the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games has been the heightened public and government awareness of and focus on clean air, which directly contributed to the issuance of the updated “Ambient Air Quality Standards”. These new policies introduced PM2.5, ozone, and carbon monoxide monitoring, and include clear requirements for air quality data disclosure. The government also launched joint control of air pollution and regional coordination and governance.

The environmental legacy of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games can be seen in other major events in China, namely the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, the Guangzhou Asian Games, and the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games. Across the nation, expectations and confidence raised by these events have laid a strong foundation for public participation in future discussions on environmental protection.6 7 Compared to the 2008 summer Olympic Games, Beijing now also faces challenges posed by its particular winter conditions, including air quality concerns (February is also typically a period of especially bad air quality), pressure on its water resources from ski venues, and the construction of new sports venues adjacent to a national nature reserve. Based on independent 1 2 3

4

5 6 7

‘Ambient Air Quality Standards’, http://news.xinhuanet.com/city/2012-05/14/c_123123803.htm ‘Beijing Clean Air Action Plan 2013-2017’, http://www.bjepb.gov.cn/bjepb/323474/330026/324900/440807/index.html ‘Beijing municipal action plan for coal reduction and clean energy construction 2015’, http://china.huanqiu.com/article/201504/6267746.html Issued by the Energy Development Office of Beijing Development and Reform Committee, http://www.chinajsb.cn/bz/content/2015-04/21/content_155610.htm http://news.sina.com.cn/o/2015-07-11/014032096088.shtml http://news.cntv.cn/china/20100807/100394.shtml http://www.stats-sh.gov.cn/fxbg/201103/86769.html

desktop and field research, Greenpeace believes that Beijing and Zhangjiakou have the following environmental challenges and opportunities: -

Air quality improvement Renewable energy adoption Water resource management Biodiversity protection

Now that Beijing and Zhangjiakou have been confirmed as joint hosts of the 2022 Winter Olympics, both cities are set to start comprehensive preparations. It is noteworthy that 11 venues from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will be renovated and reused for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, cutting down significantly on the need for new construction. We expect environmental awareness and consideration to become a major guideline for every aspect of the preparation work in the coming seven years. The 2022 Winter Olympic Games have provided Beijing and Zhangjiakou with a unique opportunity to make sustainability the core concept for the Games and the core component of their legacy. The 2022 Winter Olympic Games can become the showcase of the most advanced environmental vision, determination and technologies, in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and serve as a role model for the rest of China.

We suggest that the organising committee take on board our recommendations regarding the four aforementioned topics from the earliest stages of their work, and show their willingness to make the 2022 Winter Olympic Games one of the world’s greenest events. The 2022 Winter Olympic Games have countless reasons to exceed previous events in terms of sustainability.

Greenpeace will continue to monitor the preparation period so that the 2022 Winter Olympic Games will benefit people in the region and the whole of China with a lasting green legacy.

Air Quality in 2022 and After

In the Beijing Candidature for 2022 Olympic Winter (hereafter, Candidate Files) Beijing pledges that “the city’s air quality during the Games will meet the standards set by the WHO.” Greenpeace recognizes this relatively ambitious target by Beijing but believes there is space for more aggressive clean air actions. We recommend Beijing to develop more stringent air pollution control plans, accelerate the implementations of all measures, and expand such acts in the whole Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Beijing must look beyond the two-week event and aim at leaving the region with lasting blue skies by bringing the annual mean PM2.5 level in the region to within the WHO interim standard of 35 μg/m3 by 2022.

Beijing’s current 2022 Winter Olympics Air Quality Target is relatively ambitious Since the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the city's air quality has drawn widespread domestic and international attention. During the 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing took interim measures, including shutting down factories, reducing production and restricting traffic, in order to guarantee good air quality. Neighbouring provinces and cities including Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Shandong, also took necessary actions. Such joint prevention and control of air pollution by these regions indeed helped to improve Beijing’s air quality during the two week period of the 2008 Olympic Games.8 This became known as the "Olympic Blue".

Public expectation for cleaner air, in Beijing, as well as the rest of China, has increased tremendously since 2008. In its Candidate Files, Beijing pledged that the “the city’s air quality during the Games will meet the standards set by the WHO”, 9 referring to the WHO interim target-1,10 or a PM2.5 24-hour mean at or below 75 μg/m3 (See Table 1).

This interim target is in line with the second grade of Chinese national "Ambient Air Quality Standards (GB3095-2012)."

8

‘Air pollution emissions reduce by 60% during the Beijing Olympics’, Beijing Daily, http://www.bj.xinhuanet.com/bjpd_2008/2008-09/22/content_14462703.htm 9 Beijing Candidature for 2022 Olympic Winter, Book 1,p53 10 WHO interim targets are proposed as incremental steps in a progressive reduction of air pollution and are intended for use in areas where pollution is high. If these targets were to be achieved, one could expect significant reductions in risks for acute and chronic health effects from air pollution. Progress towards the guideline values is the ultimate objective of air quality management and health risk reduction in all areas.

Table 1 - WHO air quality guidelines - PM2.5 readings: guidelines and interim targets (unit: μg/m3) 24-hour mean

Annual mean

Air quality guideline values

25

10

Interim target – 1

75

35

Interim target – 2

50

25

Interim target – 3

37.5

15

Recognizing the gap between Beijing’s commitment and the WHO guideline values, Greenpeace considers these commitments relatively ambitious taking into account the present air quality situation in Beijing and Zhangjiakou. Our analysis shows that Beijing and Zhangjiakou have set for themselves a relatively high bar in terms of the ambition of their air quality targets.

First of all, Beijing’s air quality tends to be at its worst in February (Table 2), when the Winter Olympics are expected to take place. Data from the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau shows that the annual mean concentration of PM2.5 in 2014 was 85.9 μg/m3,11 a 4.0% drop from the previous year’s 89.5 μg/m3.12 The air quality was relatively better in Zhangjiakou. Based on Greenpeace’s calculations, in Zhangjiakou, the annual mean concentration of PM2.5 in 2014 was 34.3 μg/m3, while the previous year’s level was 43.1 μg/m3.

However, in both places, the February figures for 2013 and 2014 were much higher than the annual mean, making February one of the dirtiest months of the year. Public data shows that during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, there were 11 days when Beijing’s PM2.5 24-hour mean exceeded 75 μg/m3, and on some days the readings even exceeded 393μg/m3. This means that for Beijing to meet its air quality commitment of a daily PM2.5 concentration below 75 μg/m3 in February is no easy task.

3

Table 2 – 2013 and 2014 PM 2.5 Level in Beijing and Zhangjiakou (unit: μg/m ) City

2013 Annual Mean

February 2013

2014 Annual Mean

February 2014

Beijing

89.5

99.4

85.9

153.0

Zhangjiakou

43.1

62.4

34.3

118.3

Note: Beijing’s data is sourced from the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, while Zhangjiakou’s figures are based on data from the China National Environmental Monitoring Centre, as calculated by Greenpeace.

11

‘Beijing 2013 annual average PM2.5 concentration is 89.5g/m3’, Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau website, http://www.bjepb.gov.cn/bjepb/323474/331443/331937/333896/383912/index.html 12 ‘Beijing took great efforts to reduce air pollutant emissions and improve air quality in 2014’, Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau website, http://www.bjepb.gov.cn/bjepb/323474/331443/331937/333896/418344/index.html

Secondly, if we use the WHO interim target-1 for PM2.5 (annual mean) as a benchmark, even though Beijing has not made any commitment to the WHO annual air quality target in 2022, Beijing still has a very long way to go. Beijing’s Clean Air Action Plan sets its 2017 PM2.5 target (annual mean) at approximately 60 μg/m3.13 Considering its actual PM2.5 level in 2013 (89.5 μg/m3), this means a 33% drop in the five-year period from 2013 to 2017. If Beijing were to further reduce pollution level to around 35μg/m3, it would mean another 40% reduction from 2017 levels, which would be even more aggressive than the previous five year cycle. This gives an indication of the ambition of the air quality bar that Beijing and Zhangjiakou have set for themselves.

Olympics Blue or Everyday Blue?

Beijing and Zhangjiakou are presented with a choice. They can choose to focus on daily air quality targets during the Winter Olympic Games, blessing locals with a two-week window of Olympic Blue, or they can take a more long-term strategic and systematic approach, so that citizens in the region can breathe safely every day of the year. It has been standard practice for local governments to rely on interim measures to clean up local air quality in the run up to big events. Such unsustainable practices, while guaranteeing clean air during the events themselves, have incurred huge social costs.

It is not mission impossible, however, for Beijing to attain “everyday blue”, should clean air actions such as coal control be spread to a wider region beyond the capital. Beijing has been closing down many of its coal-burning power plants since July 2014, new emission standards for coal-burning power plants and steel factories have been launched in late 2014 and early 2015, and the new Environmental Protection Law has been put into effect since January 1, 2015.

Consequently, in the first half of 2015, SO2 emissions from coal-burning power plants and steel industries in Beijing dropped 41.3%, and PM2.5 concentration dropped 15.2% year-on-year.14 If neighbouring Hebei and Tianjin also follow and implement the joint coal-control measures, Beijing should reach its 2017 PM2.5 target of 60 μg/m3 sooner than planned.

Greenpeace urges Beijing and Hebei to take a long-term perspective and produce a clean air action plan with the WHO interim target-1 PM2.5 level (annual mean) of 35 μg/m3 as the basis. A green legacy that lasts long after the Winter Olympics must start with a design and plan backed by a long-term goal and sense of determination. Hebei and Beijing, along with other neighbouring provinces and cities, must work together towards this goal. While Beijing continues its efforts to curb emissions from coal and vehicles, well-coordinated actions must also be spread to neighbouring places. Actions from surrounding areas are also crucial to improving Beijing's air quality.

13

‘Notice to Action Plan on Prevention and Control of Air Pollution by the State Council’, Chinese Government website, http://www.gov.cn/zwgk/2013-09/12/content_2486773.htm

14

‘Monthly Report on Air Quality (June 2015)’, http://www.bjepb.gov.cn/bjepb/413526/331443/331810/408014/4373842/index.html

Renewable Energy Use in 2022 and Beyond

Beijing pledged in its Candidate Files that “Beijing 2022 will be carbon neutral”.

Beijing’s carbon management plan is a good starting point, but it unfortunately still places much emphasis on compensation for emissions, rather than cutting emissions at source.

Greenpeace believes that the Winter Olympic Games can become a showcase of China’s low-carbon development and energy revolution with a target to power all Winter Olympic venues with 100% renewable energy. Clean renewable energy should be the main source of energy for both the construction and operations of the venues. The preparation for the event should also become an opportunity for the region to develop a greener energy portfolio and for low carbon growth to be prioritized, leaving a lasting green legacy in the region.

While Beijing's pledge of 'carbon neutrality' demonstrates its awareness of low-carbon development,15 Greenpeace believes that Beijing needs to take a more ambitious approach than the current 'emission first, and compensation later' model, which relies in part on the compensation method of reforestation. A really progressive and substantial low-carbon path through further energy savings and a much greater uptake of renewable energy should be aspired to.

In 2014, President Xi Jinping made reference to a revolution in energy production and consumption. 16 Recently, China announced that it expected carbon emissions to peak by 2030,17 demonstrating its pursuit of low-carbon development. At the same time, China aims to raise the proportion of non-fossil energy to 15% of its primary energy consumption by 2020, and then to 30% by 2030. These targets will guide renewable energy development and demonstrate the country’s resolve. China is currently leading the world in terms of the total amount it is investing in renewable energy, total wind power utilisation, thermal solar usage, solar PV and other renewable energy technologies, and equipment manufacturing. In the next ten to twenty years, China has the potential to lead the world in the “renewables revolution”.

Hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics provides the region an opportunity to innovate and lead the country in the field of renewable energy deployment. The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games will take place in the context of China’s climate and energy commitments in its 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) and the post-2020 climate agreement. Beijing and Zhangjiakou should make the best use of this unique opportunity to achieve progress in the following two aspects. First, energy saving and the uptake of clean renewable energy, including wind, solar PV, and geothermal, should be top priorities for both the construction and operation of the venues.

Second, the energy portfolio of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Area should be optimised and create 15

Beijing Candidature for 2022 Olympic Winter, Book 1, p.65. http://news.xinhuanet.com/ziliao/2014-06/29/c_1111365840.htm 17 http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2015-06/30/c_1115774752.htm 16

new opportunities for low-carbon development during the preparation for the event, leaving a strong green energy legacy for the region.

Greenpeace recommends the creation of a bold, feasible, and quantitative target of renewable energy uptake for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Moreover, all Winter Olympic venues should be 100% powered by renewable energy sources.

Furthermore, the 2022 Winter Olympic Games will provide Beijing with an opportunity to embrace renewable energy from neighbouring provinces. The areas surrounding Beijing, including Hebei, have unique renewable energy resources. Zhangjiakou has built ten million kilowatts of national level wind power bases. The National Energy Board has recently been researching ways to assimilate the use of wind power for heating.18 It has also suggested that Beijing’s Yanqing district, adjacent to Zhangjiakou in Hebei, is suitable for renewable energy heating demonstration projects.19 Hebei’s Taihang mountain region is rich in solar energy and geothermal resources, and offers huge potential for further development. Inner Mongolia, relatively farther from Beijing and Zhangjiakou, is rich in wind power and solar energy resources that are readily available for power transmission. Beijing itself has wind farms at the Guanting reservoir, and has been promoting the development of urban distributed solar PV in recent years.

Such endowments provide the best opportunities for Beijing and Zhangjiakou to make the 2022 Winter Olympic Games a truly low-carbon event. However, Beijing needs to first become more open to renewable energy from outside the city. Technical restraints and grid dispatch management are not excuses for Beijing today or in 2022, especially considering China’s ambitious Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Economic Hub Programme. Meanwhile, in the context of energy reform, a number of hot topics and innovations that have the potential to revolutionise industry, transportation, digitisation and the intelligence sector are worth exploring in the next seven years. Beijing should not waste these unique opportunities.

This will also help further improve air quality in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area after 2022. As air quality improves, benchmarks for further actions have also been raised. While “strikes” on endof-pipeline treatment of excessive industrial emissions and capacity adjustments in polluting industries are outdated, effective measures including energy portfolio reform and cooperation with wider areas should be applied to further clear the sky.

18 19

http://mt.sohu.com/20150521/n413499707.shtml ‘Notice to Pilot Renewable Energy Heating in Beijing’, National Energy Bureau, http://zfxxgk.nea.gov.cn/auto87/201504/t20150428_1910.html

Water Resource Management in 2022 and Beyond

In its Candidate Files, Beijing claimed that “there are enough water resources in the Games Zones for snow sports, which can meet the needs for snowmaking without affecting citizens’ daily life.”

Greenpeace’s assessment shows that overall water demand from the ski venues of the 2022 Winter Olympics is manageable in terms of sheer volume. However, the water scarcity situation in Beijing and Zhangjiakou requires the organizers to be more water conscious and pay particular attention to the influences of snowmaking on the micro water environment of the areas surrounding the venues. Meanwhile, Beijing should take the Winter Olympics as an opportunity to set up a stringent water management policy for all water intensive facilities so that the water footprint of post-Olympics winter sports activities can be reduced.

Water Resources in Beijing and Zhangjiakou Beijing has a severe water scarcity problem to contend with. In 2013, Beijing's per capita water resources volume was only 117 m3, 20 far below the United Nations water shortage threshold of 1000 m3. Zhangjiakou is slightly better than Beijing in terms of its per capita water resources volume (399 m3) but is still considered water scarce by the United Nations standard.21 In its Report of the 2022 Evaluation Commission, the IOC pointed out that "Northern China suffers from severe water stress and the Beijing – Zhangjiakou area is becoming increasingly arid.” 22 Based on official data analysis of Beijing’s water resources over the past decade, Greenpeace found that, from 2004 to 2013, Beijing's water resources have often been lower than the multiple annual average (except in 2012). In addition, precipitation remains at relatively low levels (except in 2008 and 2012). In contrast, Beijing’s annual water consumption has been at a high level of 3.5 billion m3, with a slightly upward trend. This has resulted in a huge annual water supply gap over the past decade (except in 2012), with the largest gap being 1.366 billion m3 (2009). This huge "water deficit" has seen Beijing overdrawing on its already stretched water resources. One worrisome indicator is that the depth of Beijing’s underground water dropped to 24.52 meters in 2013 from 19.04 metres in 2004, and the groundwater reserve in 2013 had fallen by 6.47 billion m3 since 1998. With a much smaller population and geographical area, Zhangjiakou average annual water resources volume is also much smaller (at 1.8 billion m3).

The situation requires the organizer to be more water conscious throughout the preparation and hosting of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

20

‘Beijing Water Resources Bulletin’, Beijing Water Resources Bureau, 2013.

‘On the Strengthening of Water Resource Management and Protection of Zhangjiakou’, Tao et al., June 22 2015, http://www.wenku1.com/view/927E0DF65BD71C5A.html 22 Report of the 2022 Evaluation Commission, p.67 21

Table 1 - Trend of Beijing Water Resources 2004-2013 Year Water Average Total Annual Resourc Annual Water Precipitat es Water Consu ion Volume Resources mption (mm) (100 Volume (100 million (100 million million m3) m3) m3) 2004 21.35 37.39 34.55 539 2005 23.18 37.39 34.5 468 2006 22.07 37.39 34.3 448 2007 23.81 37.39 34.8 499 2008 34.21 37.39 35.1 638 2009 21.84 37.39 35.5 448 2010 23.08 37.39 35.2 524 2011 26.81 37.39 36 552 2012 39.5 37.39 35.9 708 2013 24.81 37.39 36.4 501

Average Annual Precipitat ion (mm)

Water Consumpti on Gap (100 million m3)

Average Depth Of Underground Water (meter)

585 585 585 585 585 585 585 585 585 585

13.2 11.32 12.23 10.99 0.89 13.66 12.12 9.19 -3.6 11.59

19.04 20.21 21.52 22.79 22.92 24.07 24.92 24.94 24.27 24.52

(Data source: Beijing Water Resources Bulletin, Beijing Water Resources Bureau)

Estimation of water use for 2022 Winter Olympics ski venues The use of snowmaking to guarantee conditions for the Winter Olympics has become common practice in recent events. It was used extensively in the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics23 (widely recognised for its environmental performance) and the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.24 Snowmaking is a technology whereby a snowmaking machine injects water into nozzles or spray guns that make contact with high pressure air and form small particles. On being sprayed into the cold air outside, the particles condense into ice crystals and fall to the ground to become artificial snow, which is then ploughed to become ski tracks.25 The water use of the venues for snow sports is highly depended on the size of the ski course and the water efficiency of the snowmaking equipment. Currently, there is no international standard for water use efficiency of snowmaking. In Vermont, United States, where the ski industry is relatively advanced, a technology assessment of snowmaking shows that for every acre of snow (one foot thick) an average of 179,000 gallons of water are consumed. 26 Converted to the metric system, every square meter of snow (30 cm thick) consumes 0.16m3 of water (that is, every cubic meter of snow consumes 0.5m3 of water). According to Beijing’s 23

‘Greening Olympics Reaches New Peak at the 2006 Winter Games in Italy’, United Nations Environment Programme, Nov 9 2005, http://www.unep.org/chinese/sport_env/PressRelease/GreeningItalyGames.asp 24 ‘An Olympian Snow Endeavor in Sochi’, The New York Times, Feb 3 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/04/science/anolympian-snow-endeavor-in-sochi.html?_r=0 25 Hu Kanping, ‘The Capital City’s Luxury Water Consumption’, 2013, http://www.fon.org.cn/uploads/attachment/16711365516657.pdf 26 ‘Snowmaking/Mountain Operations Technology Assessment Final Report’, Efficiency Vermont, Aug 2004, p.22.

Water Management Requirements for Ski Fields announced in 2005, the annual new water use for ski fields should not exceed 0.48m3 per square meters of ski course area, and such venues should build water storage pools with a capacity of more than 40% of the snowmaking water use to re-collect snowmelt and rainwater.

Note that water use for snowmaking does not simply equal water loss. The latter often refers to the result of evapotranspiration with water not returning to surface or underground aquifers.

Since the snowmelt can be reused and part of it can go back to surface or underground aquifers, the water loss for a ski venue is only part of its total water use.

According to public data and information provided by the bid committee, water use for five ski venues located in Beijing’s Yanqing District and Zhangjiakou City in Hebei are estimated as follows:27 Total length of ski courses (m) 28

Width of ski courses (m) 29

Size of other areas (m2) 30

Total area of ski courses (m2)

Total snowmakin g volume (m3) 31

Water use for primary snowmaking (m3) 32

Yanqing National Alpine Ski Center

8090

30

N/A

242700

72810

36405

Zhangjiakou Genting Ski Park A&B

3550

40

12391

154391

46317.3

23158.7

Zhangjiakou Biathlon Center

7549

12

5411

95999

28799.7

14399.9

Zhangjiakou Nordic Center Ski Jumping Venue

2050

12

11084

35684

10705.2

5352.6

27

Since the methodology to assess the water use of skating venues is unavailable, only ski venues are considered in this assessment.

28 Estimated based on venue layout provided by the 2022 bid committee.

29 Based on provisions of the International Ski Federation (FIS).

30 This includes base areas and preparation areas.

31 Assuming snow thickness of 30 centimeters.

32 Estimated based on every cubic meter of snow requiring 0.5 m3 of water to produce.

Zhangjiakou Nordic Center Cross Country Venue

13879

12

10404

176952

53085.6

26542.8

Due to very limited information pertaining to the 2022 Winter Olympics, the above figures remain estimates. To clarify, the calculations are based on the assumption that all the ski venues are entirely serviced by artificial snow (i.e. zero natural snow). It only considers water use for primary snowmaking and not supplementary snowmaking during course maintenance.

Still, based on these figures, we found that the estimated water use for the five ski venues are of orders of magnitude lower than the annual water resources volume in Beijing and Zhangjiakou.

Therefore, at the macro level, the water footprint of the 2022 Winter Olympics’ ski venues will be limited.

The impact of these ski venues on the surrounding micro water environment is worth more attention. Public data show that the ski venues require nearby surface runoff and water from reservoirs to meet the needs of snowmaking.33 In its Report of the 2022 Evaluation Commission, the IOC stated that “mountain run-off during the Commission’s site visit was surprisingly low for the time of the year.”34 This means that, during the Winter Olympics, Beijing and Zhangjiakou are likely to completely rely on water from nearby reservoirs. Since winter is normally a dry season for rivers, lakes and reservoirs, Beijing should take necessary measures (such as closely monitoring the water level of surface runoff as well as reasonable management of water intake and storage time) to ensure that water use does not cause significant negative effects on the water environment. Public information about Foyukou reservoir, the water source for the Yanqing ski venues, shows that it has a capacity of 2.05 million m3, and Yunzhou reservoir, the water source of Zhangjiakou’s winter sports venues, has a capacity of 102 million m 3. It appears that reservoir capacity is far greater than snowmaking demands for water. Monitoring of actual water levels before and during the games in order to minimise the effects of snowmaking on the surrounding micro water environment are still required, however.

Greater Challenges: Beijing’s Post-Olympics Water Resources Management For the Beijing-Zhangjiakou region, the greater challenge will be water resource management after the Winter Olympics. One of the visions of the 2022 Winter Olympics is to inspire public enthusiasm for winter sports participation. A goal to encourage a population of 300 million people in northern China, especially young people, to enjoy snow and ice sports has been set.

To achieve this vision, more snow sports venues will be required. Under the pressure of 33

34

‘Is lack of snow the weakness for Yanqing Olympic Bidding? Expert: artificial snow needed’, Tencent Sports, March 25 2015, http://sports.qq.com/a/20150325/030181.htm Report of the 2022 Evaluation Commission, p.67.

increasingly serious water scarcity in Northern China, strict water use management of the winter sports venues should become an important part of the 2022 Winter Olympics green legacy.

The Beijing Water Saving Measures announced in 2012 give out a positive signal. Ski venues, as well as golf courses and bathhouses are listed as water intensive projects under focused monitoring and strict water quotas.35 Also, Beijing launched a new tiered water pricing system on May 1 2014, charging water intensive projects such as ski venues a high price of 160 RMB per cubic meter of water (normal household fees are 5-9 RMB per cubic meter).36 The above measures show that the water footprint of water intensive projects in Beijing has been recognised.

Beijing should use the opportunity of hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics to continue its prudent water management policies, to apply the experience in advanced water resources management it will gain in preparation for and during the Games to existing venues, and to further reduce the water footprint of snow sports.

35

36

‘Beijing Municipal Measures on the Conservation of Water’, http://zhengwu.beijing.gov.cn/fggz/zfgz/t1228433.htm

‘Beijing Water Group specifies water price adjustment and tiered pricing scheme implementation plan’, Beijing Water Group, April 29, 2014, http://www.bjwatergroup.com.cn/264/2014_4_29/264_7020_1398754343646.html

Biodiversity Protection in 2022 and after

The IOC points out in its Report of the 2022 Evaluation Commission that one of the proposed venues would be adjacent to the Songshan National Nature Reserve in Yanqing, and that “this would impose a number of environmental requirements that would have to be taken into consideration during the detailed planning phase.”

Based on the most recent information from the IOC on the location of the skiing venue (in its June 2015 evaluation report of Beijing's bid), Greenpeace inspected the site and considers the location acceptable but strongly suggests that Beijing should fine-tune the ski course to avoid damages to rare plant species, such as wild orchids, and minimise usage of previously untouched areas. The Winter Olympics should also become an opportunity to improve the management of the Songshan National Nature Reserve in general.

Part of the IOC evaluation report into Beijing’s conditions makes mention of the fact that the Olympic venues at Yanqing are adjacent to Songshan National Nature Reserve and part of the same mountain ecosystem.37 “This would impose a number of environmental requirements that would have to be taken into consideration during the detailed planning phase.”

Greenpeace undertook field research in this region in June 2015, to gather basic information on the communities and conditions of flora and fauna, as well as human activities in the area. The following assessment is based on the most recent information from the IOC on the location of the Yanqing skiing venues (in its Jun 2015 evaluation report of Beijing's bid) and Greenpeace’s field research.

Greenpeace field research has found that this is an area where various species of wild orchid plants grow, and also the only known distribution point for Shanxi Cypripedium in Beijing.

Distribution of these orchids also gives the region important biological conservation value. The field survey also recorded 34 species of birds, while the construction and use of the Winter Olympics ski courses may affect 13 species across high-altitude meadows, thickets and bush areas.

Greenpeace has also found that a large part of the area (Da Haituo, Xiao Haituo, and the saddle connection between them) has already been open to unsupervised human activity, namely tourism, for a substantial period of time. Considering the ecological value of this region as well as the current level of human activity, Greenpeace recommends that Beijing should fine-tune the ski course to avoid damages to rare plant species, such as wild orchids, and strictly limit the usage of previously untouched areas.

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Report of the 2022 Evaluation Commission, p.69.

It is also crucial to minimise damage to vegetation, reduce noise, set designated tourist paths with barriers to better regulate visitor activities, and take the opportunity of the Winter Games to improve the level of environmental protection and management throughout the area.

Besides the protection of local biodiversity, Greenpeace also calls on the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee to develop sustainable timber procurement policies for facility construction, and put a firm halt to the use of mahogany. China also needs to guide the domestic wood market, take on its international responsibility to protect endangered species and tropical rainforests, and leave an Olympic legacy of forest protection.

In summary, Greenpeace believes that the Winter Olympics are a unique opportunity to improve the environment of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area. The local authorities should take this opportunity to strengthen environmental governance, intensify measures to improve air quality, increase the use of renewable energy, build sustainable water resource management systems, and enhance regional biodiversity protection. Such efforts to make the most of the environmental opportunities on offer would help make the 2022 Winter Olympics both a win for China and a win for the environment, leaving a lasting green legacy for generations to come.