Conservation International is pleased to be a part of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games' lasting climate legacy that features support of the Chyulu Hills REDD+ Project in Kenya. We commend their Climate Solidarity strategy and are working with Abatable to help the Games realize their commitment to a thriving future for climate, nature, and people. Good luck to the Olympians from Kenya and around the world who are still competing and congratulations to all the athletes at this year's games.
Today marks the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games. There will be many stories of triumph and inspiration that emerge from these games but one story that hasn’t been told enough is how the City of Paris as used nature to address climate change and prepare to host the world. Extreme heat around the world has gripped headlines this summer and the Paris games could be the hottest ones on record. To put this in context: average temperatures during the months when the Summer Olympics are typically held have risen by more than 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) since the last time the Games were held in Paris in 1924. Paris is turning to nature to help address some of this expected heat: · The city is currently 33% green space and is working to expand this on the ground and on city roofs as a way to cool the city and mitigate the urban heat island effect (this is true in the athlete villages as well). · This is in addition to a commitment to plant 170,000 trees that will also help provide shade and cool asphalt covered streets and Olympic venues/parks (tree cover can make areas 20–45°F cooler than unshaded asphalt). But perhaps one of the most visible stories around these games is how the city has spent over $1B to clean up the Seine (in part through natural infrastructure) so that the river can be swimmable for the first time since 1924. Paris is setting a precedent for carbon neutrality and nature as an answer to extreme heat as the entire world is watching. Let the games begin! https://lnkd.in/eQwj6dW4