Winter Games climate goals clash with environmental reality, putting sustainability claims to the test

The Winter Olympics and Paralympics have, for decades, been a celebration of snow, cold and mountains — a global showcase for sports built on reliable winter conditions. 

But as temperatures rise and snowfall becomes harder to count on, that foundation is far from solid — and environmental experts say Olympic organizers are still overselling how “sustainable” the Games can be.

With Italy set to host the next Winter Olympics in just weeks, followed by the Paralympic Games in March, that tension is already shaping planning decisions, infrastructure choices and climate promises, and exposing how hard those promises are to keep.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has acknowledged the problem. A 2024 study it commissioned found that only about half of previous Winter Olympics host cities would still be cold enough to host the Games by the 2050s.

A November 2025 ski-resilience index tracking snow reliability ranked many resorts as increasingly vulnerable, with Cortina d’Ampezzo, the Alpine town and main site of the upcoming Games, squarely in the middle. Researchers say that raises doubts about what happens once the Olympic spotlight fades.

Still, the IOC insists its climate goals remain on track.

It aims to cut carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 and now requires host cities to rely almost entirely on existing or temporary venues.

Snow competition sites, it says, must remain “climate reliable” — meaning they have to be cold and snowy enough to hold events without excessive technical intervention — until at least mid-century.

Temperatures in the Italian Alps are already above long-term averages. February highs in Milan can reach 10.2 C. In Cortina, the average is now about 4.2 C. Natural snowpack, which is still central to fair competition, has become increasingly hit-or-miss. Artificial snow and refrigeration are no longer backups, but a necessity.

Organizers say Italy has a solid history of sustainability at the centre of planning big events. 

Gloria Zavatta, the sustainability and impact director for the upcoming Winter Games, points to the 2006 Turin Olympics and the 2015 Milan Expo as early attempts to measure and manage emissions. 

These events, she said, laid the groundwork for Milano-Cortina’s approach, which follows the ISO 14064 international standard for greenhouse-gas reporting and commits organizers to producing a full CO2 inventory by the end of 2026, with the goal of offsetting those emissions.

The accounting, though, has major limits. It covers what organizers directly control — venue energy use during the Games, the Olympic transport system and temporary infrastructure. But it excludes what is often one of the biggest sources of emissions at major sporting events: spectator travel.

“We are sending [spectators] and international federations some guidelines, inviting them to use the most sustainable way of transport, to reduce flights and use of single vehicles, to use collective and public transport,” Zavatta said. “But it’s not under our control.”