The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) has taken an environmentalist approach to their design and construction of these stadiums. Environmentalism is best summed up by Greg Garrard, a prominent Eco-critic, in his book Ecocriticism as a position that depicts people who care for the environment but also want to continue advancing in terms of technology and improving their current standard of living. Environmentalists I argue in this blog post that the SC takes a specific stance in environmentalism when it comes to constructing their stadiums, leaning towards a more Promethean environmentalist approach. This essay’s primary purpose is to critique the intentions of the SC as they may seem genuine from a superficial glance, but when analyzed, there are many questions left unanswered.
In a sense, the SC is capable of improving its construction for these stadiums and maintaining their business essentially, all while tending to and protecting the environment. This position applies to the SC as they have made the necessary changes to their stadiums to make it environmentally friendly such as; minimizing waste, increasing their ability to recycle, and water management.[1] They want to maintain ecological security in Qatar while providing the capabilities of development to secure prosperity for the ecosystem and minimize threats against the environment and create a successful World Cup. This specific approach was created by Martin Lewis, an Eco-critic mentioned in Garrard’s book; it alludes to humanity using their greed for industrialization in a way that is responsible for the environment.[2] It argues for ecological modernization, a sort of capitalism guided by responsible environmentalists to provide technological solutions to the many issues the environment faces. The SC promotes finding solutions to Qatar’s environmental problems, and they are doing so by creating awareness and making a difference in business’ environmental standards.[3] However, the level of sincerity is questioned because caring for the environment as an environmentalist business creates doubt.
The SC is not only informing their employees and the people of Qatar, but they are also promoting a new lifestyle entirely. A lifestyle focused on recycling and living in a way that is considered environmentally friendly. Yet, there is empirical evidence against their environmentalist front; they are a business, meaning they are doing this to first and foremost profit off of it. They are capitalists in nature, benefiting off of their “environmentalist” front. What I found to be controversial is that they will dissolve immediately after the World Cup after dispersing sections of the stadiums to different countries; this brings up questions about how authentic their intentions towards sustainability are. On the one hand, the SC is pushing Qatar’s standards; they have effectively made Qatar the forefront of environmentalism and sustainability. The SC makes a difference in Qatar’s environment and the world’s view of how environmentally friendly large scale events like the World Cup can be. The SC is creating an ecologically friendly World Cup to bring positive attention to Qatar from the international community, but how much of it is really for the sole purpose of the environment?
Bibliography:
“Environmental Sustainability.” See You In 2022. Accessed October 28, 2020. https://www.qatar2022.qa/en/about/sustainability/environmental.
“FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM Sustainability Strategy.” Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy. Accessed September 20, 2020. https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/fifa-world-cup-qatar-2022tm-sustainability-strategy.pdf?cloudid=p2axokh26lzaafloutgs.
Garrard, Greg. “Positions.” Essay. In Ecocriticism. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2012.
Miller, Rory. Desert Kingdoms to Global Powers: The Rise of the Arab Gulf. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2016.
[1] “Environmental Sustainability.” See You In 2022. Accessed October 28, 2020. https://www.qatar2022.qa/en/about/sustainability/environmental.
[2] Garrard, Greg. “Positions.” Essay. In Ecocriticism. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2012.
[3] “FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM Sustainability Strategy.” Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy. Accessed September 20, 2020. https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/fifa-world-cup-qatar-2022tm-sustainability-strategy.pdf?cloudid=p2axokh26lzaafloutgs.
