Climate: "The end of the Winter Olympics seems inevitable, but remains unthinkable" (J.Maillet)

"The end of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games seems inevitable, but as long as no country has given up due to the impossibility of staging the Games, whether because of too strong a thaw, excessive heat during the event or the technical inability to stage the events, this possibility will remain unthought of", José Maillet, director of Gaïa, Audencia's ecological and social transition course, told News Tank on 25/03/2026.

As the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Milan-Cortina draw to a close, he looks back at the environmental impact of such an event, at a time when the very model of winter sports is increasingly being questioned.

"The Olympic Games are often associated with snow cannons and their energy consumption. However, their carbon impact is low, especially when compared with the travel and accommodation of tourists, athletes, sponsors and the media", explains the teacher.

The problem with snow cannons is the creation of large reservoirs of water in the mountains to produce a sufficient quantity of artificial snow: "In addition to the shovel passes that cause lasting…