Reduce Emissions to Save Skiing

The death of skiing is not inevitable if global greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, according to Dom Winter of Protect Our Winters.

'The future of Winter sports relies on how well we reduce our emissions in the coming decades'.
Dom Winter

Petition and Letter

Protect Our Winters (POW) launched a petition in October 2023 calling on the Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS) to commit to climate action now.

The petition was prompted by damaging preparations for early season ski races in Zermatt and Sölden. Heavy machinery was used to hack away at glacier ice.

POW's petition calls on the FIS to:

• set out a roadmap to cut its emissions by 50% by 2030
• publish its environmental impact
• adapt the ski racing calendar to respect the changing climate (starting racing later)
• reduce athletes' need to take flights to attend races
• advocate for climate action at governmental level

The petition followed a letter from 500 athletes to the FIS, asking that the start of the season be moved from late October to late November.

The ski racer signatories also asked for a more geographically reasonable race schedule. Currently the men's circuit travels from Europe to North America and back twice during the season.

Effect of Climate Change on Skiing in the Alps

Climate change is an existential threat to skiing in the Alps.

A recent study in the journal Nature looked at 2,234 ski resorts in the European Alps. It found that:

• at 2C of global heating, 53% of the resorts were at very high risk of scarce snow. With artificial snowmaking, this reduced to 27%
• at 4C of global heating, 98% of the resorts were at very high risk of scarce snow, reducing to 71% with snowmaking

Ski resorts are not only victims of climate change, but also contribute to it. Much of tourism's carbon footprint (49%) comes from transport.

A study by the University of Basel showed that at the resort of Andermatt:

• unabated greenhouse gas emissions would cause lack of natural snow below 1800-2000m by 2050
• even with snowmaking there would be no guarantee of a 100-day season including the important Christmas period by the end of the century

Montagne Verte, Morzine

A sustainability organisation called Montagne Verte in Morzine is looking to mitigate climate change and adapt to it.

Sandra Laville in the Guardian quotes Montagne Verte General Manager Cécile Burton.

'Temperatures in the Alps are rising at more than twice the global average and that is not good news for an industry dependent on snow'.
Cécile Burton, Montagne Verte

Part of mitigating climate change could be to move to car-free resorts and encourage people to travel by train. Zermatt is already car-free.

Montagne Verte's approach to adaptation is to focus on four-season tourism, in areas where you can climb, mountain bike and walk.

They also want people to be able to live in the mountains all year round, but that means there must be year-round employment.