Low-carbon Olympic torch

In 2007, EDF Energy, an Olympic sponsor and 2012 sustainability partner, announced that the Olympic torch would feature a low-carbon flame. Today, EDF Energy announced that it will no longer be providing the promised low-carbon torch because of safety concerns.

Shaun McCarthy, Chair of the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, says:

"We respect the need to make sure that any solution must be 100% safe and reliable, but we are disappointed that LOCOG and their partner EDF Energy have failed in their objective to deliver a low-carbon Olympic torch. The carbon contribution of this initiative may have been relatively small, but the power of the message across the globe would have been highly significant. The Olympic torch is a universal symbol of the Games, and a low-carbon torch would have been an unequivocal demonstration of London's commitment to a truly sustainable Games.

The promise of a low-carbon torch was made in 2007 and so the excuse of "we ran out of time" is not acceptable. While we acknowledge that EDF Energy invested considerable effort into the low-carbon torch concept, this is a project with an immovable deadline and therefore commitments must be delivered."

For more information, contact:hfitzhugh@epochpr.com

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