The Shift Project: football & rugby in France emit 2.2 million tCO2e per year (50% from transport)

Football and rugby, both professional and amateur, emit 2.2 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e) per year in France, "equivalent to the total emissions of the inhabitants of a town like Rennes (FRA)," according to The Shift Project, a public interest association founded in 2010 which describes itself as the "think tank for decarbonisation" and which, published "Décarbonons le sport - Un premier applicatif au football et au rugby" (Decarbonising sport - A first applicative study of football and rugby), on 13/02/2025.

Other key figures from the study, carried out with the support of MAIF (a mutual insurance company), include the following:
• Half of all emissions come from transport (mainly for spectators);
• 80% of the carbon impact comes from amateur sport.

"Professional football accounts for 62% of the carbon footprint (compared with 38% for professional rugby) due to the greater number of matches. However, on a per-match basis, rugby's carbon footprint is higher because of the greater number of international matches," explained Justine Birot, who co-piloted the report alongside…