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What the 2026 World Cup tells us about the difference between promising to be green and proving it.
The controversies around the 2026 World Cup are still ongoing but one has yet to be mentioned. The tournament’s carbon footprint, which so far has not and may never be confirmed.
When the United States, Canada and Mexico bid to host, their pitch included a climate promise: a carbon-neutral event. The bid’s own environmental assessment, a 97-page report by the consultancy Arup, estimated a footprint of around 3.7 million tonnes of CO₂e across the tournament. By the time the event actually arrived, spread across a whole continent, it was far larger than that bid had described. And FIFA itself set no carbon-neutral target for 2026 at all.
So when researchers wanted to know the real number, they could not simply look it up. As a team writing in The Conversation put it, FIFA had not released the figures, so they built a computer model to check. Their estimate: almost 3.2 million tonnes of CO₂e, in the same range as Qatar 2022’s 3.8 million.
This is the part that should matter to anyone who runs events. The controversy here is not really about whether a football tournament is high-carbon. Of course it is: you cannot move players, staff and hundreds of thousands of fans across a continent without a significant footprint. The controversy is that the number was never transparently measured and published in the first place.
That is what turns a big footprint into a credibility problem. A figure that is estimated behind closed doors, or left to independent researchers to reconstruct after the fact, invites exactly the scrutiny FIFA has faced for years. For the Qatar tournament, the advertising watchdog in FIFA’s own country found it had neither measured its emissions by accepted methods nor shown how it had offset them.
Most venues and event organisers are not operating at World Cup scale. But the principle is identical, and so is the direction regulation is heading. Vague claims of being green, unsupported by transparent measurement, are becoming a liability rather than an asset, whether you run a conference centre, an exhibition, or a single event. Evidence is becoming the point.
The organisations that come out of this well will not be the ones with the smallest footprint. They will be the ones who measured honestly, showed their working, and could point to a real number when asked. That is a choice available to every event, not just the ones with a global broadcast audience.
At One Tribe, that is the whole idea behind a live impact page: an event’s footprint, calculated on the recognised GHG protocol, in a form a venue or organiser can actually show a client rather than a claim you ask them to take on trust. When the next big tournament makes headlines for the figures it did not publish, the venues and events that did publish theirs will look all the more credible for it.
On a personal note, this one has been a hot topic in our office, and not only on the climate side. Our own team represents Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and the UK, so the football has been keenly felt around here. It is a reminder that these events bring people together in a way little else does, which is exactly why measuring their impact honestly matters, rather than quietly hoping no one asks.
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One Tribe is a Climate Action Platform enabling businesses and their customers to make a positive environmental impact.
Eric currently works as an independent consultant at the intersection of nature and climate, focused on catalysing market and non-market solutions to drive the just transition.
He previously was Head of Product at Earthshot Labs, supporting nature conservation and restoration projects across the global south secure project finance. Prior to Earthshot Labs, Eric led nature-based carbon project development for Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique and founded the Carbon Cooperative, a global alliance of leading nature conservation and restoration practitioners exploring carbon finance. After serving in the Peace Corps in Mozambique out of university, he spent much of his 20s working in community-based conservation and ecosystem restoration efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa interspersed with two startup ventures as co-founder and CEO of a mental health tech startup and COO of a sustainable coffee company. Eric has a dual Masters in Environmental Engineering and Environmental Policy from Stanford University where he was a NSF Graduate Research Fellow and a BS in Environmental Engineering from Tufts University.
Alan is a risk management thought-leader, superconnector, and FinTech pioneer. His mission is to enable an Earth Positive economy which includes nature in global accounting systems.
Alan is Founder of Generation Blue, a venture studio dedicated to planetary game changers powered by exponential technologies. Previously, Alan established Natural Capital Markets at Lykke AG, pioneering blockchain based forestry and carbon backed tokens. Alan has over two decades of risk management experience advising global financial institutions, and was a founding member of the RiskMetrics Group, a JPMorgan spin-off. Alan is an investor and advisor to regenerative impact ventures, including TreeBuddy.Earth, Regenativ, and Vlinder Climate.
Lori Whitecalf made history when she became the first woman to be elected Chief of Sweetgrass First Nation in 2011. She served three terms of office from 2011-2017.
Lori took a two-year hiatus from leadership to expand the family ranch and serve as the FSIN Senior Industry Liaison. She was re-elected on November 29. 2019 and again on November 30, 2021, as Chief of Sweetgrass. Chief Whitecalf practises a traditional lifestyle of hunting, fishing and gathering. She currently sits on the following boards: Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology, FSIN Lands and Resource Commission, Battle River Treaty 6 Health Centre and Battleford Agency Tribal Chiefs Executive Council, FSIN Women’s Commission.
Tina is the Chief Business Officer for MLTC Industrial Investments, the Economic Development arm of the Meadow Lake Tribal Council. She has a diverse background of experience. Having spent 15 years as a municipal Chief Operating Officer, 20 years involved in Saskatchewan’s Health Authority Board Keewatin Yatthe and 9 years with Northern Lights Board of Education.
She continues as a Board Member with Beaver River Community Futures supporting small business development in her home region. Tina brings a wealth of experience in a variety of fields and many connections to the Indigenous communities of Northern Saskatchewan. In addition Tina holds a BA Advanced from the U of S, a Certificate in Local Government Authority from the U of R and is certified as a Professional Economic Developer for Saskatchewan and a certified Technician Aboriginal Economic Developer (TAED).
Tootoosis’ career spans 40+ years in HRM, political leadership, and Indigenous economic development, as a dedicated bridge builder and advocate for Indigenous causes.
As a key member of the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority (SREDA) team since 2021, he develops strategies for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission final report and Call to Action #92.
He is a graduate of the First Nations University of Canada and a certified Professional Aboriginal Economic Developer. Spearheading various community initiatives while serving as a Chair of the SIEDN while directing ILDII and WIBF. Founder of MGT Consulting Tootoosis is based in Saskatoon, Treaty Six Territory.
Cy Standing (Wakanya Najin in Dakota) has a long and distinguished career including serving overseas as an Electronics Technician in the Royal Canadian Air Force, former Chief of Wahpeton Dakota Nation, former Vice Chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indigenous Nations (FSIN), past Executive Director of Community Development Branch of the Department of Northern Saskatchewan as well as an Order in Council appointment to the Federal Parole Board.
Mr. Standing has served as a Director on many Profit and Non-Profit Corporate Boards, including serving as a Director for Affinity Credit Union with assets of over six billion dollars as well as IMI Brokerage and Wanuskewin and is currently a member of the One Tribe Indigenous Carbon Board.