Team USA has confirmed that it will bring its own air conditioning units for American athletes to use in their rooms in the Olympic Village at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. The news came after games organizers said no AC would be provided in the accommodation.
The Paris Summer Olympics organizing committee has been determined to cut the carbon footprint of the massive sports event in half compared to previous Olympics. To do that, the Paris 2024 Committee told CBS News it had used "innovative, eco-focused cooling solutions" to keep the rooms athletes will sleep in cool for the games, which kick off on July 26.
Experts warned in a recent report that the Paris Olympics could be the hottest games in history. Average temperatures having increased approximately 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit since the last time the city hosted the Olympics.
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The organizers say their innovative solutions will allow them to "minimize carbon emissions and keep temperatures at comfortable levels in the rooms."
"We don't need air conditioning in these buildings because we oriented the facades so that they wouldn't get too much sun during the summer, and the facades, the insulation is really efficient," Yann Krysinksi, who's responsible for infrastructure at Paris 2024, told the Reuters news agency, adding that the Olympic Village uses "naturally cool water that we're getting from underground to cool the air of these apartments."
But Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), confirmed the teams would be supplying air conditioning units for their athletes.
"In our conversations with athletes this was a very high priority and something that the athletes felt was a critical component in their performance capability, and the predictability and consistency of what they're accustomed to," she told journalists during a briefing last week.
Despite the decision, Hirshland said the USOPC respected the work done by the Paris 2024 organizers to increase the sustainability of the event.
Athletes from the United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark and Italy are also reportedly installing their own AC systems in the Olympic Village.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo told Reuters the nations considering bringing their own air conditioning should "trust the science."
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