World
EURO 2024 teams can slash their emissions by 60% by not flying: NGO
Only three of the 24 teams taking part have answered T&E’s calls to opt out of flying during the month-long football extravaganza.
Germany is aiming to make the EURO 2024 football tournament the greenest ever but its ambitions could be higher if national teams just played ball and cut out flying, according to Transport & Environment (T&E).
National teams could slash their emissions by 60 per cent if they opt out of flying and choose to travel by train or coach, an analysis by the umbrella organisation representing NGOs promoting sustainable travel found.
Unfortunately, no team besides Germany, Portugal, and Switzerland has yet to make such a pledge.
“UEFA and the hosts Germany have put a lot of effort into cutting transport emissions around the tournament, making it the greenest championships ever. This shows what can be done,” Erin Vera, T&E’s Travel Smart Campaigner, said in a statement.
“Disappointingly the national teams are so far failing to lead by example. If teams chose to avoid taking the plane for journeys that could reasonably be taken by train or coach, they can drastically slash their emissions,” she added.
Favourite France could slash emissions by 97 per cent
The month-long tournament will see 24 teams and some of the world’s top players including England’s captain Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé, the French captain, battle it out across 10 German cities.
Both players, however, could pollute seven to nine times more through their transport emissions alone during the tournament than what the average person emits over a whole month if their teams – which are among the favourites to lift the trophy – travel by plane, according to T&E.
Mbappé and the France team will have their basecamp at Paderborn, a city in western Germany located a six-hour train ride from Paris. The team’s group stage matches will take place in Düsseldorf, Leipzig and Dortmund, respectively located less than two hours, four hours and one hour and fifteen minutes away from Paderborn, according to Google Maps.
Calculations by T&E found that if France switched completely from air to train or coach travel then they could reduce their CO2 emissions by 97 per cent – or about 40 tonnes – in the group stage alone.
For the knockout stage, the round of 16 is to take place in Leipzig, the quarters and final in Berlin – a four-hour train ride from Paderborn – and the semis in Dortmund. Should France reach the final, it could reduce its emissions by 96 per cent – amounting to 72 tonnes of CO2 – if they were to switch from air to rail or road.
Only three teams have made pledges
The UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) and host Germany have made efforts to promote train travel for teams and fans, acknowledging that the biggest chunk of the tournament’s emissions, 80 per cent, comes from transport.
Group stage matches have been geographically grouped close to each other to reduce travel time and related emissions.
Every match ticket holder will, meanwhile, be entitled to a 36-hour travel card to use on public transport in and around the ten host cities. The Deutsche Bahn is also offering fans reduced prices for travel around the country.
T&E and other climate groups across Europe urged national teams last month to commit to travelling more sustainably.
Germany has pledged to not fly for the group stage, reducing its potential emissions by 98 per cent, but did not comment on its knockout round plans.
Switzerland agreed to travel by bus to their Stuttgart basecamp, some four hours away from their training ground.
Portugal will also shift to the road for two out three matches during the group phase and “expressed their intention to start reporting travel emissions during this tournament, in order to be able to set reduction targets for next tournaments such as the World Cup”, according to T&E.
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Video captured a large emergency response after a small plane crashed into Beijing’s tallest skyscraper on Friday, prompting an immediate information blackout from Chinese authorities, The Associated Press reported.
Video and photos shared on social media appear to show the aircraft plummeting to the ground after smashing a large hole in the 108-story CITIC Tower, located in the Chinese capital’s business district.
Police, fire and EMS workers were spotted at the scene preventing witnesses from taking photos and attempting to clear the area.
People gather near the CITIC Tower in Beijing on June 26, 2026, after an eyewitness reported plane debris at the base of Beijing’s tallest building. Video footage taken from a nearby building by the witness showed fire trucks blasting water at smoke billowing from the 528-metre (1,732-foot) CITIC Tower, while the wreck of a plane lay on the ground beside the building. (Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images)
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A person working inside the high-rise said the plane crash triggered the building’s fire alarms.
Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 indicated the aircraft was a Sunward SA 60L Aurora, which took off about 30 miles east of the city and crashed shortly before 6 p.m. local time.
ADS-B data for the flight only includes a partial flight path and stops prior to the crash, according to air traffic data.
A hole is seen (R) on the side of the CITIC Tower in Beijing on June 26, 2026, after a reported plane crash. (Peter Catterall/AFP via Getty Images)
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The AP reported that photos and videos of the incident escaped the country’s “great firewall” and were circulated on social media platform X, though Chinese censors have removed content about the crash from the country’s restricted internet.
No information has been released by government officials or state-run media, as of Friday afternoon.
Police personnel block the road near the CITIC Tower in Beijing on June 26, 2026. (Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images)
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The cause of the crash, identity of the pilot, and the number of casualties remain unclear.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
The military government, in power since a coup in 2022, accused France of having ‘neo-colonial ambitions’.
Published On 26 Jun 2026
Burkina Faso has broken off diplomatic relations with France, further widening the rift with its former colonial ruler.
“The government of Burkina Faso hereby informs the national and international community that it has decided to sever diplomatic relations with France with effect from today, June 26, 2026,” said Friday’s statement read out on national television.
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The military government led by Captain Ibrahim Traore, in power since a coup in September 2022, is pursuing a policy against critical voices and Western countries, especially France.
In the TV announcement, the government accused France of persistently acting against its interests.
“The essential conditions for promoting relations based on mutual respect, reciprocal trust, respect for the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and national sovereignty are not in place,” said Communications Minister, Gilbert Ouedraogo.
He said the decision followed a review of relations with Paris. He accused France of having “neo-colonial ambitions, made evident by its active support for subversive networks and the terrorists who are plunging our country and the Sahel into mourning”.
In January, political parties in Burkina Faso were formally dissolved by the military government, which has also seized all their assets in a move analysts say is a major blow for democracy in the West African nation.
Landlocked Burkina Faso is grappling with several armed groups which have seized control of land in the country’s north, south and west. These include the al-Qaeda-backed Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), which also operate in neighbouring Mali and Niger.
Burkina Faso’s military has been accused of committing atrocities, including the ethnic cleansing of Fulani civilians, amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch found last April.
According to the government statement released on Friday, the decision to cut ties with France “exclusively concerns diplomatic relations between the two states” and “does not call into question the historical, human, cultural and social ties between the people of Burkina Faso and France”.
It added that French nationals in Burkina Faso will continue to be protected in accordance with the law.
Once a significant power in northern, central and western Africa, France has seen its influence shrink in recent years, especially as many of its former African colonies, particularly in the Sahel, have distanced themselves and become more closely aligned with Russia and China.
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