How will the World Cup affect the planet and your bills?

• This year’s World Cup will be the most polluting ever, but it could help cut your bills
• The Boiler Upgrade Scheme discount must now be applied pre-installation
• BYD are going to install 600 super-charge flash chargers across the UK, cutting charge times to five minutes

The World Cup is here, and football fans across the globe are settling in for an exciting summer of sporting excellence. By the time you read this, we’ll already be several games in. 

What’s not exciting is the tournament’s effect on our planet. As it’s set to be the biggest football competition of all time, it will also very likely be the most polluting. 

Why? Mainly because there are more teams taking part than ever before (48), but also because about 6.5 million people will watch the games from the stands. Then there’s the issue of FIFA sponsor Saudi Aramco, which is one of the biggest carbon emitters in the world.

Despite this, the organisers have made some eco-friendly decisions, such as using solar panels on stadiums and only using pre-existing venues to host matches. It isn’t all bad, but we think it’s a missed opportunity to show the world how one of the great international sporting events can be arranged without hurting the planet. 

However, there is a surprising opportunity for energy billpayers to save money. A large number of the games will be played after 10pm UK time. Inconvenient for sure, but also cheaper to watch if you’re on a time-of-use energy tariff.

What’s a time-of-use tariff? It’s a deal that means energy is a lot cheaper in off-peak hours, usually between 10pm and 7am (although this will depend on which energy company you’re with). 

The trade-off is that you shouldn’t use too much energy in the peak hours, often between 4pm and 7pm. If you have a home battery, you’ll make even more because you can take electricity when it’s cheap and use it during peak hours, potentially halving your costs.

Whether or not football finally comes home this year is out of our control. What we can do is show to FIFA that enjoying the Beautiful Game needn’t harm the environment. 

This World Cup is an own goal for the planet

By the time you’ve read this the most carbon intensive (in other words the one with the biggest carbon footprint) World Cup will be under way. We’ve taken a look at the tournament’s environmental credentials.

How does a time-of-use tariff help save money?

By letting you buy electricity when it’s cheapest, which is particularly useful as 55 games at this year’s World Cup will be played after 10pm UK time. In theory, using a time-of-use tariff could halve your energy costs, depending on how many of your appliances you’re prepared to use in the middle of the night.

Government makes Boiler Upgrade Scheme a bit easier

Fresh off its Seventh Carbon Budget, the government is taking more steps to help people buy heat pumps by making installers apply the £7,500 upfront, rather than after installation. We all know heat pumps are the future and the best way to get bills down, so this is welcome news. 

BYD to let you charge your EV in just 5 minutes

Yes, you read that correctly – you could soon be charging your EV in just 5 minutes thanks to BYD’s plan to install 66 ‘flash-chargers’ across the UK. The idea is to get one over on Tesla, which is fine by us as long as it gets more EVs on the road. 

Average price of clean technology

Solar PV system: £7,834.00

Solar storage battery: £9,365.78

Air source heat pump: £13,649.70

Ground source heat pump: £20,579.32

Number of the week

9 million

That’s how many tonnes of carbon the World Cup could produce, the equivalent of 6.5 million cars being driven for a year. 

Sources:

• https://www.theecoexperts.co.uk/news/world-cup-carbon-emissions
• https://www.theecoexperts.co.uk/news/time-of-use-tariffs
• https://www.ft.com/content/6e8c7f42-e7b1-40cf-814c-8f4d764a8f30?syn-25a6b1a6=1
• https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2026-04/boiler_upgrade_scheme_guidance_for_installers_V5_20260424143058.pdf?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=ofgem&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=

Written By

Maximilian Schwerdtfeger Deputy editor

Max joined The Eco Experts as content manager in February 2024 and became deputy editor in 2025. He has written about sustainability issues across numerous industries, including maritime, supply chain, finance, mining, and retail. He has also written extensively for consumer titles like City AM, The Morning Star, and The Daily Express.

He has represented The Eco Experts on national television several times, including the BBC’s Sunday Morning Live and ITV Tonight .

In 2020, he covered in detail the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) legislation on sulphur emissions and its effects on the global container shipping market as online editor of Port Technology International.

He also explored the initiatives major container ports and terminals have launched in order to ship vital goods across the world without polluting the environment.

Since then, he has reported heavily on the impact made by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices on the supply chain of minerals, with a particular focus on rare earth mining in Africa.

As part of this, in 2022 Max visited mines and ports in Angola to hone in on the challenges being faced by one of the world’s biggest producers of rare earth minerals.

His most recent sustainability-related work came much closer to home, as he investigated the eco-challenges faced by independent retailers in the UK, specifically looking at how they can cut emissions and continue to thrive.

Max lives in South London and is an avid reader of books on modern history. He has also recently learned to play the game Mahjong and takes every opportunity to do so. He is also yet to find a sport he doesn’t enjoy watching.

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Will Georgiadis

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