The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, scheduled to take place from February 6 to 22, 2026, in northern Italy, face criticism over their climate impact, particularly due to sponsorship deals with high-carbon companies, according to a new report released on World Snow Day, January 18, 2026.
Titled Olympics Torched, the report published by Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) and the New Weather Institute, in association with the athlete-led group Champions for Earth, highlights how the Games' environmental footprint is significantly amplified by promotional partnerships with polluters.
Based on official data, excluding sponsorship-related emissions, the Olympics are estimated to generate around 930,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. This is projected to contribute to the loss of approximately 2.3 square kilometres of snow cover-equivalent to about 1,300 Olympic-sized ice hockey rinks-and over 14 million tonnes of glacier ice.
However, the report argues that three key sponsorship deals with Italian oil and gas giant Eni, carmaker Stellantis (owner of brands including Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, and Maserati), and national airline ITA Airways add an estimated 1.3 million TCO2E in induced emissions. This represents a 40% increase over the Games' direct footprint, with Eni accounting for more than half of the additional total. Combined, the Games and these sponsorships could result in roughly 5.5 square kilometres of snow cover loss-equivalent to more than 3,000 Olympic-sized ice hockey rinks and over 34 million tonnes of glacier ice loss.
The findings draw on established climate science linking emissions to snow and ice melt, amid broader concerns that winter sports are increasingly vulnerable to global heating. Italy has reportedly lost 265 ski resorts in the last five years, with similar declines in France (over 180 Alpine resorts) and Switzerland (55 ski lifts and cable cars closed). The report notes that many resorts now rely heavily on artificial snow.
Stuart Parkinson, director of Scientists for Global Responsibility, climate scientist, and lead author of the report, said, "Even without the growing mountain of scientific evidence on the impact of global heating on winter sports, it is plain enough to anyone visiting actual mountains that snow cover is being lost and glaciers are melting. This report adds to that evidence by showing that winter sports themselves contribute to that impact both directly through their carbon emissions and by promoting major polluters through advertising and sponsorship. But this also means that winter sports can be part of the solution by cleaning up their own acts and dropping dirty sponsors."
Andrew Simms, co-director of the New Weather Institute, said, "The Winter Olympics once showed it can lead to progress. Inspired by athletes, health experts, and scientists saying what was at stake, it was the Calgary Games in 1988 that took a decisive stand against tobacco advertising and sponsorship. That ultimately rid the Olympics and sport more widely of tobacco's lethal influence. Now the death count due to air pollution from burning fossil fuels is on a par with tobacco; it's time for the Olympics to follow its own precedent and end a link that threatens not just its athletes but its very existence."
Athletes have also voiced strong concerns. Swedish professional cross-country skier Bjorn Sandstrom said, "As an athlete whose joy and livelihood comes from skiing, I want a world where it can continue. The Olympics will always generate emissions, and reducing them must be a priority. But the Games' greatest influence is the signal they send to the world. When that signal is driven by fossil fuel sponsorship, it directly contradicts climate science and threatens the future of winter sport."
Ukaleq Slettemark, Greenlandic biathlete, Winter Olympian, and former World Junior Champion, said, "It is not justifiable that winter sports are giving oil companies a platform to look like they're contributing positively to society when the reality is that they are not. It's a complete contradiction when the fossil fuel industry is the biggest contributor to climate change, to making winters disappear, and therefore also a threat to the very existence of winter sports."
The report recommends key actions to cut emissions, including ending sponsorships with high-carbon corporations, avoiding new venue construction, and reducing air travel by spectators. It aligns with campaigns such as the Fossil Free Declaration for Sport, the athlete-led "Ski Fossil Free" petition, and the site savethewintergames.com, which urges action to protect winter sports from fossil fuel sponsorship.
The Winter Olympics reach a global broadcast audience of about two billion, giving them significant influence. Critics argue that without reforms, the event risks undermining the future of the winter sports it celebrates.
