Political positions of CIPRA International
Only climate-friendly tourism is sustainable: cc.alps - CIPRA’s demands for tourism in climate change
Climate change is a major challenge to Alpine tourism. It has to adapt to climate change and at the same time become more climate-friendly. There is a particularly large potential for reduction of CO2 emissions in the key areas of traffic and energy. Tourism is a branch of the economy which is heavily subsidized. Therefore public policy can and must direct developments towards sustainability through the support given to tourism. The present discussion about developments in the tourism industry is dominated by the large chair lift companies which are essentially fixed on ski tourism and the maintenance of the status quo. But focusing only on snow and skiing means promoting a capital-intensive, highly technological form of Alpine tourism and a monoculture. This is neither climatologically nor environmentally sustainable.
cc.alps: CIPRA Demands – Energy self-sufficient regions
Not having to depend on energy imports: this vision holds great fascination for many regions. Self-sufficiency is “in.” There are already many very positive approaches and examples of attempts to go down this road. At the heart of all the concepts is the idea of meeting demand through regional renewable sources of energy, saving energy and using energy more efficiently. Anyone who systematically takes this approach in an attempt to create an energy self-sufficient region changes the face of their region and its structures – to the benefit of their own economy, society and the environment.
cc.alps: CIPRA Demands on Spatial Planning
The Alps are different. The Alpine range is characterized by special features that need to be taken into account in spatial development and climate protection.
News on Alpine Politics
Michael Gams, CIPRA International
New alliance for European mountain regions
Three umbrella organizations committed to mountaineering and sustainability in European mountain regions decided, at the end of November 2021, to join forces: the Club Arc Alpin (CAA), the European Union of Mountaineering Associations (EUMA) and the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA).
Veronika Hribernik, CIPRA International
For drinkable water
In a referendum held at the beginning of July, Slovenia’s citizens voted by a clear majority in favour of preserving the shore and coastal zones. In doing so, they overturned a new law that would also have affected Alpine waters.
Veronika Hribernik, CIPRA International
How much hydropower is ecologically sustainable ?
Renovate power plants instead of building new ones, preserve the last freshwater pearls, coordinate use and protection across countries: CIPRA has published a position paper with detailed technical demands on the use of hydropower in the Alps.
Kaspar Schuler, CIPRA International
Point of view: Water will not tolerate resistance
Extreme weather conditions are also increasingly affecting the Alps. The climate crisis is driving this development. Can more and more dams, barriers or power stations solve the problem and at the same time satisfy the growing hunger for energy? We must work with the power of water rather than against it, says Kaspar Schuler, CIPRA’s Executive Director and co-author of CIPRA’s new position paper on hydropower.
Standpunkte der CIPRA
Point of view: The tourism dilemma
Travel threatens the very values upon which tourism in the Alps depends, creating a real dilemma. Sustainable mobility in tourism is not simply a competitive advantage, but a “must”, states Barbara Wülser, deputy director of CIPRA International.
Point of view: Skiing, adieu!
Winter is here and in many ski resorts the snow cannons are running at full blast. Yet the number of skiers is in decline, making it hard to justify the immense investments made with the aim of expanding ski areas. It is time to realise that skiing is not a business model with a future, says Katharina Conradin, President of CIPRA International.
Point of view: Municipalities as drivers for sustainable development
Sustainable development cannot be prescribed by law: it needs local people to put it into effect. Municipalities have a key role here, says Jean Horgues-Debat, the newly elected President of CIPRA France.