Raphael Stevens

In this articleRIO-GBRIO-AUThe 2016 Rio Olympics was considered one of the most expensive Summer Games ever. In 2018, they were estimated to have a total cost of $20 billion, far beyond the Rio organizing committee’s initial estimate of $2.8 billion.Cities incurring cost overruns when hosting the Olympics is not unique to Rio; according to the Council on Foreign Relations. It says that since 1960, every Olympics saw high overrun costs, except for the 1984 Los Angeles Games.While Winter and Summer Games are expensive to host, the latter are typically more costly and expansive. There are more athletes, competitions and events that require more specialized facilities. Winter Games usually stay within their cost estimate threshold, with minimal overrun costs. However, the 2014 Sochi Games were an outlier, with the estimate peaking $40 billion and the cost winding up at $51 billion.With overrun a growing concern, several cities withdrew their 2022 Winter Olympic bids in 2014, citing the potential costs. And in 2020 the International Olympic Committee faced another challenge, how to host the 2020 Tokyo Games as the Covid-19 pandemic crippled economies worldwide.How can the Olympics find cities to host the event in the future? And how did the Olympics grow from humble beginnings into a massive and expensive international event? Watch our video.Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032. More

In this articleTGTThe bullseye logo is seen on the outside of a Target store at Monroe Marketplace.Paul Weaver | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty ImagesTarget is known for its exclusive merchandise, with private label brands for everything from arts and craft supplies to apparel. Now, the retailer is pledging to make all those products more environmentally sustainable.It said Tuesday it will design items that are more durable and will eliminate waste and encourage reuse by 2040.Within that time frame, Target is planning to become a net-zero enterprise, which means it will create zero waste for landfills at its U.S. operations and have net-zero emissions across its operations and supply chain.While these changes may not be apparent to consumers immediately, the retailer’s efforts are underway. Target said it has already launched a few products and initiatives with sustainability in mind. For example, its Universal Thread clothing uses sustainably sourced cotton and recycled polyester and its line of cleaning products, Everspring, uses 100% recyclable bottles and sprayers, compostable multisurface wipes and 100% recycled paper.”These standards are being worked on as we speak. You’ll see them throughout today and in the future. And then, as we launch new brands, that will be more embedded in what that brand launch looks like. So more to come,” said Amanda Nusz, the retailer’s senior vice president of corporate responsibility.As it works toward this goal, Target has other benchmarks to reach even sooner. By 2025, all of its brands will use plastic packaging that is either recyclable, compostable or reusable.By 2030, its goal is to be the market leader for creating and curating inclusive, sustainable brands and experiences, the company said.Starting this fall, the company will address single-use plastic bags as part of its Beyond the Bag initiative, which is looking to design retail bags that are less harmful to the environment.Target said it is responding to growing consumer demand for more sustainable products and practices from companies.Seventy-two percent of U.S. consumers said sustainability is somewhat important or important when making purchase decisions, according to the results from the EY Future Consumer Index. The survey gathered information from 1,001 U.S. respondents and more than 14,000 global respondents in May.Consumers are so committed to sustainability that 30% said they are spending more on products that are sustainable and better for the environment and 31% said they plan to increase purchasing sustainable products in the next 12 months.”We spent over a year gathering information and listening,” Nusz said. “It’s a new era of sustainability for our company. Although it’s not new work, we are aiming to co-create an equitable and regenerative future with our guests, our partners and community.”The goals Target announced Tuesday build on its earlier efforts. For example, Target signed on to the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment in 2018 to commit to eliminating plastic waste by making it reusable, recyclable or compostable. The company also has begun reducing its emissions and sourcing more of its power from renewable sources.Other retailers are responding to consumer demand for products that are less harmful for the environment. Walmart launched a partnership with ThredUp, a secondhand seller of apparel, shoes and accessories, to offer preowned items for women and children on Walmart’s website. ThredUp also has partnerships with Gap and Macy’s.Adidas has set a goal to make nine of 10 products sustainable by 2025 and Lululemon piloted a resale program that allows customers to buy and sell used items. This month, it will expand the effort to its website. Levi’s launched a campaign encouraging customers to wear their jeans longer and avoid disposing of them.”As a company and a member of the global community, it’s imperative for both the health of our business and of our planet that we embrace new ways to move forward,” Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell said in a statement. “We know sustainability is tied to business resiliency and growth, and that our size and scale can drive change that is good for all.” More

In this articleMC-FRDue to social distancing, shoppers wear protective masks while waiting in line outside Louis Vuitton as South Coast Plaza reopens, requiring customers maintain a social distance and wear face masks at South Coast Plaza Thursday, June 11, 2020 in Costa Mesa, CA.Allen J. Schaben | Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesLONDON — There are questions about the future of retail, but French luxury goods giant LVMH has no doubt what it will look like.”We see the future being two things: being mostly retail stores, because the client experience in a retail store cannot be matched easily online. As of today, I mean, no one has found the sort of miracle formula that would enable clients to enjoy as much online,” Jean Jacques Guiony, chief financial officer at LVMH, told CNBC on Monday.”The second point is also to enrich this experience with online content,” he added.The coronavirus pandemic, and subsequent stay-at-home orders, has led to a significant surge in online shopping and forced many retailers to develop their online offerings at a much faster pace. This dynamic has in turn challenged the need for physical stores.However, for LVMH, one of the world’s biggest luxury brands, the online offering is just “a complement to the physical experience.”Guiony said that most customers who visit stores had previously checked the website and could have bought the items they wanted there.”They get a lot of information, but they come to the store because the store experience is something that cannot be matched on the internet,” he told CNBC’s Charlotte Reed.Tiffany & Co. in Vienna, Austria at the most prestigious shopping zone in downtown Wien also called the Golden U at Kohlmarkt street Strasse.Nicolas Economou | NurPhoto | Getty ImagesLVMH reported a 17% drop in revenues in 2020 compared to the previous year. The business was impacted not only by local lockdown measures, but also by the prohibitions on international travel. Other brands owned by LVMH include Moet & Chadon, Marc Jacobs, Christian Dior and Bvlgari.”I don’t know whether we can talk about roaring 20s … the analogy one century after makes me a little bit doubtful, but anyway, I don’t know whether we can talk about that. We can definitely talk about the fact that the business is doing well with most of the client base, be it in Europe, be it in Asia,” Guiony said. “All in all, frankly, we cannot complain.”LVMH last year completed the acquisition of Tiffany’s, the jewelry brand, in a $15.8 billion deal.”The integration of Tiffany is not a six-month job, it’s something that will last for a number of quarters and the objective is not just to integrate, is to develop the business up to the level that we think the quality of the brand could generate, so it is a long-term job,” he added.LVMH shares are up about 32.8% year-to-date. More

In this articleTSLAThe Virtuo app can be used to unlock the Tesla.LONDON — European car hire firm Virtuo is adding dozens of Teslas to its fleet as part of an effort to electrify more of its vehicles.The company, which allows people to hire and unlock premium cars through an app, wants 50% of its vehicles to be electric by 2025, and 100% by 2030.It plans to add around 50 Tesla Model 3 Long Range vehicles to its fleets in London and Paris, and they will be available for customers to book from June 22.Karim Kaddoura, co-founder and CEO of Virtuo, told CNBC that there’s an “awe” associated with the Tesla brand, adding that customers have a say in what cars are added to the Virtuo fleet.”It’s been very clear over the years, and in the last survey that we did, that Tesla Model 3 specifically was the model that everybody wanted to drive,” he said.The Model 3 can do 0-60mph in 3.1 seconds and it has a range of 360 miles, according to Tesla.Kaddoura is optimistic customers will opt to hire the Tesla. “It’s a different experience,” he said. “It’s undeniably packed with the latest features and innovations that are nothing like any other car.”Virtuo customers will be able to pick up a Tesla Model 3 or have it delivered for an extra fee. Prices will vary depending on the length of the hire, but the company says they’ll start from around £69 ($96) per day.The introduction of the Tesla Model 3 to Virtuo’s fleet comes after investors pumped $60 million into the five-year-old company last month, bringing total investment in the firm up to $96 million. It said it will use the money to accelerate the electrification of its fleet.Virtuo CEO Karim KaddouraKaddoura declined to comment on Virtuo’s revenues but said the company had 150,000 active customers and 4,000 vehicles for hire across France, the U.K., Spain and Italy.The 125-person business has been talking about adding Tesla vehicles to its fleet for several years, but Kaddoura said he wanted to understand the additional operational challenges that electric cars present before introducing them.Some of the main challenges that have held the company back include the lack of electric vehicle infrastructure and the range of the electric cars.Virtuo added a number of Hyundai Kona Electric vehicles to its fleet in the first quarter so that it could learn what it takes to operate EV cars, said Kaddoura. “We didn’t want to get Tesla into the catalogue without having at least a bit of experience on that,” he said.There are other companies, such as EV Hire, that already let customers rent a Tesla.The renewed focus on electric vehicles comes as some of the world’s biggest car companies have pledged to ditch the internal combustion engine in favor of electric power over the next few years.And countries are getting in on the act too. The U.K., for instance, will stop selling new diesel and petrol (gasoline) cars and vans from 2030 under plans announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson last year. More

A hiker walks among winding channels carved by water on the surface of the melting Longyearbreen glacier during a summer heat wave on Svalbard archipelago on July 31, 2020 near Longyearbyen, Norway. Global warming is having a dramatic impact on Svalbard that, according to Norwegian meteorological data, includes a rise in average winter temperatures of 10 degrees Celsius over the past 30 years, creating disruptions to the entire local ecosystem.Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesA campaign to criminalize acts of widespread environmental destruction is quickly gathering pace.Ecocide, which literally translates from Greek and Latin as “killing our home,” is an umbrella term for all forms of the mass damage of ecosystems, from industrial pollution to the release of micro plastics into the oceans.The term has been debated by academics, climate activists and legal professionals for more than half a century. However, it’s only in recent years that the idea has become increasingly widespread, with Pope Francis, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and French President Emmanuel Macron all endorsing the movement to recognize ecocide as an international crime.Now, a team of top environmental lawyers is working to define it. A panel convened by the Stop Ecocide Foundation will publish the legal definition of ecocide on Tuesday, seeking to pave the way for acts of environmental destruction to be incorporated into the International Criminal Court’s mandate. It could see ecocide established alongside war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity in the Hague.”There have been working definitions in the past, but this is the first time that something has been convened globally and in response to political demand,” Jojo Mehta, co-founder of the Stop Ecocide campaign, told CNBC via telephone.”What that shows is that the space is opening up in the political world to actually look at a solution like this. This conversation is no longer falling on deaf ears and, indeed, it is actually gathering momentum at quite a pace,” Mehta said.How did we get here?The term ecocide was first coined in 1970 to characterize the massive damage and destruction of ecosystems, although it would remain on the fringes of the environmental movement for decades thereafter.It wasn’t until nearly 50 years later that a campaign to progress ecocide as an international crime would celebrate its biggest public step forward yet. That moment came as the tiny South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu addressed the ICC’s annual Assembly of States Parties on Dec. 2, 2019.”We believe this radical idea merits serious discussion,” John Licht, Vanuatu’s ambassador to the European Union, said at the time. The call was soon echoed by the government of the Maldives.The climate crisis poses an existential threat to the island states of Vanuatu and the Maldives, with both countries facing the imminent prospect of losing significant amounts of territory as a result of rising sea levels. The actions that have caused rising global temperatures have taken place almost entirely elsewhere, however.It’s a declaration that we have got to a point where we need to stop destroying the planet. Rachel Killean Senior lecturer in law at Queen’s University BelfastProponents of the Stop Ecocide campaign argue that a standalone law to punish decision-makers at the top level is required in order to create “a moral red line” to widespread environmental destruction.”There are encouraging signs. You wouldn’t have believed how quickly ecocide erupted over the last couple of years,” Rachel Killean, senior lecturer in law at Queen’s University Belfast, told CNBC via telephone.”I think there are still huge political barriers because ecocide impacts powerful states, but I wouldn’t have predicted we would be where we are today. So potentially there’s enough of a groundswell around environmental issues for us to see it come through.”Why does it matter?Advocates of the Stop Ecocide campaign say there are a number of benefits when it comes to recognizing the term in international criminal law. These include the expansion of international accountability and deterrence, opening the door to the enhanced rights of nature, access to reparations and improved public understanding of the scale and scope of the ecological crisis.Members of Extinction Rebellion hold a banner reading ‘Make Ecocide a Crime’ in Parliament Square on August 28, 2020 in London, England.Peter Summers | Getty Images News | Getty Images”If we had ecocide, what it might mean is that you could prosecute crimes against the environment potentially without there needing to be a connection to some widespread human atrocity. You could also prosecute environmental crime that is happening at a time of peace: It is a different way of looking at what atrocity looks like,” Killean said.”It’s a declaration that we have got to a point where we need to stop destroying the planet. The people that are destroying the planet are actually fairly few in number and are causing massive harm to our home and communities all around the world through their actions. So, there needs to be something to say you can’t do that anymore. Ecocide is potentially one part of that,” she added.What about the challenges facing ecocide law?There are a number of potential stumbling blocks. The international criminal law would only apply to individuals, for instance, raising the question of whether the recognition of ecocide at the ICC can, in effect, have a meaningful impact on business practices.It is also thought some states are likely to be unwilling to place themselves at a perceived economic disadvantage by enforcing criminal penalties domestically.What’s more, should ecocide be criminalized, countries would not be obliged to ratify the ICC’s ruling and there are several states with heavy environmental footprints — such as the U.S., China, India and Russia, among others — that are not party to the ICC’s Rome Statute.A man paddles on a boat as plastic bags float on the water surface of the Buriganga river in Dhaka on January 21, 2020.MUNIR UZ ZAMAN | AFP | Getty ImagesStop Ecocide’s Mehta argued that a period of transition would help to alleviate some of these concerns and noted the ICC has broader applicability than one might think, with non-members able to be referred via the U.N. Security Council, for example.When it was suggested ecocide should not be considered as a “silver bullet” to eradicate environmental destruction, Mehta replied: “I think that is absolutely correct … But the way we see it is, I suppose you could say, an acupuncture needle in the sense that there is a pressure point here.””At the moment, if you are campaigning for human rights and social justice, at least you know that mass murder and torture are beyond the pale. They are criminal and they are condemned. But, if you are in the environmental arena, you don’t have that. You’re standing on a void. There’s a missing foundational piece that says this much damage is simply not allowed.””It’s very difficult,” she said. “Ask any conservationist and we’ll tell you so.”Mehta said that while ecocide law is not likely to be sufficient to deal with the crises incurred in many areas environmentally, “it is necessary.” She estimated it would take four to five years to put ecocide law into practice. More

It’s one thing to require unvaccinated travelers to quarantine or undergo extra Covid tests.It’s another to bar them altogether.A small but growing list of travel destinations is either closing its doors to unvaccinated travelers or reopening only to vaccinated ones. Either way, the unvaccinated are seeing their travel options start to dwindle as tourism-dependent nations prioritize safety and simplified entrance requirements over open-door policies for all.   Unvaccinated people no longer welcomeWhen Anguilla reopened last November, travelers to the small Caribbean island needed to test negative for Covid-19 before and after arriving. A rash of new cases then occurred in April, and Anguilla reclosed its borders to tourists for a month.Starting next week, unvaccinated travelers will not be allowed to enter Anguilla.Michael Runkel | Collection Mix: Subjects | Getty ImagesNow, the British overseas territory is switching tactics. Starting July 1, visitors must be vaccinated at least three weeks before arriving. This applies to “all visitors … who are eligible to be vaccinated,” according to the Anguilla Tourist Board’s website, which says children are exempt from the requirement.  Vaccinated travelers will no longer need to quarantine, take a Covid test upon arrival or pay entrance fees. Earlier this year, vaccinated travelers were charged $300 to enter, while unvaccinated visitors were charged $600.Cases rise, tolerance fallsAnguilla isn’t the only Caribbean island closing the doors to unvaccinated travelers. The dual island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis instituted a similar policy last month.  As of May 29, St. Kitts accepts only travelers who have been vaccinated with U.S. or European vaccines. The new rule was part of several initiatives announced by Prime Minister Timothy Harris in response to a cluster of 16 Covid cases detected on the islands last month, according to St. Kitts Tourism Authority.A cluster of 16 new Covid cases in May resulted in St. Kitts and Nevis closing its borders to unvaccinated travelers.Walter Bibikow | DigitalVision | Getty Images”The previously announced travel requirements for non-vaccinated travelers are null and void,” according to a statement announcing the policy change.The islands are under a 6 p.m. daily curfew, and tourist sites are closed until June 26. A timeframe for reopening to unvaccinated tourists has not yet been indicated.Unvaccinated children traveling with vaccinated parents can also enter, though they must “vacation in place” for 14 days, rather than the nine days required for vaccinated tourists.   Anguilla and St. Kitts and Nevis are deemed Level 1 low Covid destinations by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Both were highlighted by CNBC in March as being among only a handful of tourist destinations that opened while maintaining low Covid infection rates. A ‘compelling reason’ to travelOther locations require unvaccinated visitors to show they are traveling for reasons beyond simply needing a vacation.When French Polynesia, which includes the islands of Tahiti and Bora Bora, reopened on May 1, it singled out Americans as the only nationality that could enter for the purpose of tourism. The policy applied to unvaccinated Americans, too, though the unimmunized were subject to quarantines.  That has since changed. From June 16, vaccinated tourists can enter if they spent the preceding 15 days in the United Kingdom, most French territories or France’s “green zone” countries, according to French Polynesia’s destination marketing organization. “Green zone” countries currently include most of Europe, plus countries such as Australia, Canada and the United States.France’s “green” list of countriesMost of Europe, plus Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the United StatesSource: French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, updated June 17Everyone else — including all unvaccinated travelers — must demonstrate a “compelling reason” related to health, family or work to travel to French Polynesia.”Tourism is not a compelling reason for travel,” according to Tahiti’s tourism website.France’s policy is slightly more relaxed. It allows unvaccinated travelers from “green” countries to enter via a negative Covid test. Yet travelers from “orange” countries — which is every country not on the green or red list, i.e. the majority of the world — must be vaccinated to enter or show “pressing grounds” for travel, according to the website for the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.The French collectivities of St. Barts and St. Martin in the Caribbean reopened this month with a similar policy. Nils DuFau, president of St. Barts’ tourism board, separately issued an announcement that St. Barts was open to vaccinated Americans starting June 9.St. Barts reopened its borders to vaccinated American travelers on June 9.Walter Bibikow | DigitalVision | Getty ImagesSpain went a step further. From June 7, Spain is welcoming travelers from Europe and those from a list of 10 countries with low Covid rates; all other tourists must show vaccination certificates to enter.Note: The country lists from France and Spain are similar. However, the U.K. is currently on Spain’s list, while the U.S. and Canada are not.Balancing actTourist-dependent countries, like those in the Caribbean, must balance the economic impact of welcoming tourists with the safety of its citizens, said Tim Hentschel, co-founder and CEO of hotel reservations company HotelPlanner.”I can only imagine how challenging those conversations must be between a country’s infectious disease expert advising a more stringent policy versus a head of tourism arguing to let everyone in immediately so the economy doesn’t tank,” he said.Hentschel said that while 13 Caribbean nations are sovereign, French territories such as Martinique and Guadeloupe and Dutch territories such as Curacao, Aruba and Sint Maarten, may end up following state policies.Hentschel called Asia “a very different story,” mainly due to lower vaccination rates.Vaccinated travelers from some countries will not be required to quarantine in Phuket, Thailand starting July 1.Jordan Siemens | Stone | Getty Images”As soon as there appears to be progress, a new outbreak and lockdown occur, like in Singapore,” he said. “Asia’s journey back to a semblance of pre-pandemic normal travel will be much longer — perhaps another year or more, unfortunately.”Asian destinations have stopped short of requiring vaccinations to travel, but the continent is still largely closed to leisure visitors. The much-discussed “Phuket Sandbox” model — whereby the popular island of Phuket is scheduled to reopen on July 1, before the rest of Thailand — waives quarantine requirements for vaccinated travelers from low-to-medium-risk countries.Unvaccinated travelers can still enter, though they are subject to 14-day isolation periods, the Tourism Authority of Thailand confirmed to CNBC.While requiring tourists to be vaccinated makes “perfect sense” in some places, it won’t work everywhere, said Hentschel.  “Interestingly, Mexico never closed its border to American tourists throughout the entire pandemic,” he said. “So, that’s one example where a more open policy made sense for Mexico given its proximity to the U.S., the billions in cross-border shipping and commerce conducted daily and their reliance on U.S. tourism dollars.”Editor’s note: U.S. land borders with Mexico were closed to non-essential travel in March 2020 and will remain restricted until at least July 21. However, air travel between the two countries has been opened throughout the pandemic. More