Major sporting events like the FIFA World Cup and global music tours are major events that generate significant cultural and economic value. But these events also come with massive amounts of greenhouse gas emissions caused by international travel, building infrastructure, and mass consumption. Last week, a research team from the University of Cambridge released a new framework in the journal Communications Sustainability to evaluate mega-events from the perspective of “climate viability.” Analyzing the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which ended on Sunday, and Coldplay’s 2024 European tour, the scientists weighed the consumer welfare gains of each event against the emissions costs. “Effective climate strategies for mega-events like the World Cup go well beyond reducing operational emissions at venues, as this is only a fraction of the overall footprint,” Cambridge professor Shaun Larcom explained in an announcement about the report’s findings. According to the research team’s estimates, the expansion of the 2026 World Cup to a 48-team format is expected to increase total emissions by approximately 590,000 metric tons compared to the 32-team tournament of years prior, …