How green can Beijing's "green Olympics" really be?

Beijing — China wants to use the Beijing Winter Olympics to showcase its green credentials, but there are concerns over the environmental cost of a Games relying on artificial snow in one of the driest places in the country. It is difficult to independently verify Beijing's claims around the Games, which begin on February 4, and environmentalists told AFP they fear a backlash from authorities if they analyze Beijing's green targets.

This is what we know: