Organisers of the London Marathon will charge a £26 levy on international runners as part its efforts to reach net zero by 2030.
The charge was first issued in 2021 and is set to return for the next event as part of an initiative to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Money raised will be used by London Marathon Events (LME) to finance a carbon removal project with the aim of taking 280 tonnes of CO2 from the air.
The strategy forms part of a wider goal to make the event carbon neutral within a few years. The organisers are also set to abandon diesel as a fuel source, switching to hydrotreated vegetable oil for generators.
Travellers that go to London to attend the Marathon account for 90% of its emissions, therefore the organisers wish to offset these emissions with real-terms emissions reductions by physically removing carbon from the air.
As London businesses and events aim to address carbon emissions, new carbon capture technologies and alternative fuel sources are being considered to reach net zero goals.
