UN agrees to advise Russia on ‘greening’ 2014 Sochi Olympics

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has signed an agreement with the organizers of the 2014 Sochi Olympics in Russia to make the Games environmentally friendly.

In addition to advising on “greening” the Olympics, UNEP will also organize education programmes and a series of conferences to allow international experts to monitor and analyze key environmental indicators before and after the Games, a UNEP press announcement said.

The Sochi Olympic organizers are also planning to invest $1.75 billion in energy conservation and renewable energy to offset the remaining greenhouse gas emissions from the use of electricity, air travel and ground transportation.

Other environmental initiatives include the development of “green belts” in the city and reforestation of the Sochi National Park.

The Games’ organizers had previously agreed to a UNEP suggestion to move the bobsleigh and luge tracks away from the Caucasus nature reserve, which is one of the only mountain areas in Europe that remains virtually untouched by human activity.

The organizers commemorated the signing of the agreement by planting trees in several locations in Russia as part of UNEP’s Billion Trees Campaign.

The agency also advised on greening last summer’s Beijing Olympics, which set new records for eco-friendly mass spectator sporting events, according to a UNEP report published in February.