Copenhagen's challenge of staying green while hosting Euro 2020

With the aim of going carbon neutral by 2025, Copenhagen faces a challenge as it prepares to host Euro 2020 matches -- with the accompanying excesses -- while minimising the climate impact.

This year's tournament will be spread over 12 European cities ranging from London to Rome to Baku, meaning fans will criss-cross the continent and descend on different cities.

Those supporters will of course need housing, transport and food, all of which will contribute to their carbon footprint.

"It's always a paradox when you invite people to come to your city... of course it has an impact on carbon emissions and the environment," Copenhagen's mayor Frank Jensen told AFP.

"We are focusing on how we can host a huge event with a lower carbon footprint," added the 58-year-old Social Democrat who has run the city since 2010.

The Danish capital, which was designated the European Green Capital in 2014, is trying to do everything it can to make Euro 2020 as green as possible. Recycled cups will be used, organic food will be served, waste management will be used and the use of single-use plastics will be limited.

With the addition of UEFA's promise to plant 50,000 trees in each of the 12 host countries to offset emissions, Copenhagen claims it will be able to limit the environmental impact of the four matches it will host.

But Jens Peter Mortensen of the Danish Society for Nature Conservation thinks more can be done, and efforts could especially be made when it comes to the restaurant business.

"They should definitely do better to prevent the spreading of all single-use plastic," Mortensen said.

- Already prepared -
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- 'A new path' -
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