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Point of view: Let’s plan the energy transition and restoration together!

Alpine spatial planning can help to resolve the contradictions between restoration and the expansion of renewable energy. This requires joint efforts involving the interests of the population and environmental organisations, says Paul Kuncio, Executive Director of CIPRA Austria.

FutureForum Alps 2025

“H2O: precious, powerful, scarce”: How is the climate crisis affecting the alpine water resources? What will it take to ensure that we continue to have sufficient water as a habitat and resource in the future? These and other questions will be addressed at the Liechtenstein FutureForum Alps.

Point of view: The Alps are not an endless source of energy!

Solar, wind and hydropower are helping us become less dependent on fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. This can also be done without sacrificing the last biodiversity hotspots in the Alps, says Isabella Helmschrott, Executive Director of CIPRA Switzerland.

Unsuitable landscapes for energy production

The results of a recent survey from Switzerland are clear: no to energy production in almost unspoilt mountain areas. Intensively used areas around ski resorts or existing power plants would be better suited to the expansion of renewable energy.

Alps in transition

The ecological transition is already happening in the Alps – and we are in the middle of it. The AlpWeek 2022 from 5 to 7 September 2022 in Brig-Glis/CH will bring together citizens and decision-makers to discuss the many aspects of transformation in the Alps. CIPRA is co-organiser of the international event.

Rebuild instead of build

The Austrian municipality of Zwischenwasser on the edge of the Rhine valley is rebuilding instead of building – and doing so at the highest architectural level.

Kick-Off Italian EUSALP-Presidency 2022

The EU Strategy for the Alpine Region EUSALP, launched in 2015, aims at developing the Alpine region as an attractive, innovative, competitive and green region in the heart of Europe. The focus lies on economic growth and innovation, mobility and connectivity, as well as environmental protection and energy. After the successful French presidency, the autonomous provinces of Bolzano-South Tyrol and Trento will take over the presidency for Italy for the year 2022.

Hydropower in the Alps

How much hydropower use is environmentally compatible and ecologically sustainable? This question has been on the minds of people in the Alpine region for decades - all the more so against the backdrop of the urgent need to move away from fossil fuels. There are currently around 21,000 hydropower plants in operation in Europe, 300 under construction and over 8,500 in the planning stage. In many places, climate change with its imponderables such as extreme floods is being countered with more dams and walls, although river widening, for example, would make more ecological sense.

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.

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.

Climate protection: from plan to action

The Alps as a climate-neutral, climate-resistant region by 2050: this is the objective of the newly launched “Climate Action Plan 2.0” of the Alpine Convention. Concrete steps will now follow in such areas as mountain farming, spatial planning and biodiversity.

CO2 legislation: more courage needed

While the new CO2 law in Switzerland has for the time being failed, a climate protection alliance is forming in Bavaria; Austria is discussing a climate protection law; and in France the Climate Council is taking courageous decisions.

Darkness is worth protecting

Insect mortality, fewer pollinated plants, disoriented migratory birds, disturbed sleeping rhythms: the worldwide increase in light pollution has an enormous impact on flora, fauna and humans – including in the Alpine region.

With the Alps at our backs

The French city of Grenoble aims to become the 2022 “European Green Capital”. It can play its biggest trump card in the build-up to this coveted award: the Alps.

Climate

Awards for attractive, well-built constructions

At the end of October 2017 in Bern, Switzerland, Constructive Alps crowned the winning projects, demonstrating that Alpine architecture can not only be pleasing on the eye, but sustainable too.

Turning risks into opportunities

On this October afternoon in the Swiss region of Surselva, the hotel in Vals is a hive of activity as a group of people discuss and gesticulate in German and Romansh. They’re engaged in an exchange of views on the opportunities, risks, and future of the valley in the wake of climate change.

Point of view: Adaptation to climate change is inevitable

Despite progress in international climate policy, a rise in temperatures is inevitable. An adaptation now will save costs later, states Wolfgang Pfefferkorn, project manager for climate and energy at CIPRA International. Alpine regions are leading the way.

Point of view: Switzerland needs help with its climate policy

Switzerland was formerly a leading light in environmental policy. Today, sadly, it does not even have a plan for implementing the goals of the Paris climate agreement, says Hans Weber, executive director of CIPRA Switzerland.

Better protection for Alpine rivers

A European legal ruling has strengthened the protection of Alpine rivers. Derogations for hydro plants or snow-making facilities are now more difficult to obtain. The politicians are up in arms.

Appeal: Climate change mitigation now!

An appeal from the Alpine municipalities and their inhabitants to the participants of COP 21

Sustainable building from the Arctic circle to the Mediterranean

Attractive public buildings, built of wood and stone to passive house standards: this is how the schools and community centres of the future will look. With its 35 pilot buildings the MountEE project is putting sustainable building into practice in different climate zones.

Victory for landscape protection

The controversial application to build a wind farm on the Sattelberg near the Brenner Pass was rejected in a final appeal heard by the Italian Council of State in Rome.

AlpStore Projects - Case Studies

In AlpStore, 19 partners from all 7 Alpine countries investigated the short, medium and long term requirements for both stationary and mobile energy storages. They tested storages that need to be available all the time as well as others such as the batteries of electric vehicles, which may be disconnected from the power grid for a while. They used a wide range of technologies, such as biogas and hydrogen. They tested second life batteries and developed communication strategies and actively involved local citizens. This set of 12 case studies shall give an insight in the technologies, their availability and potential use cases. Partners of the local pilot applications share their findings, results and experiences. That shall allow a broad range of practitioners and planners to gain better understanding of how energy storage systems work and how they can help secure the prosperity of the Alpine Space.

White Book - Smart Storage and Mobility (STORM)

The Whitebook builds on the results of Alp-Store at about half time of the project. At the time of its publication AlpStore partners are in the midst of their research and deployment activities. Final guidelines of the project will be published in early 2015. They will describe the ultimate findings and give guidance to local and regional authorities, regional energy utilities and Investors. Nonetheless, it is worthwhile to use the information given in this Whitebook to structure the discussion process. Moreover, chapter 9.3 contains “Short-term non-regret options for players in Alpine regions”.

Smart Storage and Mobility - Guidelines for Regional Decision Makers

In AlpStore, 19 partners from all 7 Alpine countries investigated the short, medium and long term requirements for both stationary and mobile energy storage. They tested storage that needs to be available all the time as well as others such as the batteries of electric vehicles, which may be disconnected from the power grid for a while. They used a wide range of technologies, such as biogas and hydrogen. They tested second life batteries and developed communication strategies and actively involved local citizens. Now, it is time to share their findings, results and experiences from the implemented pilot applications to contribute to a better understanding of how storage works and how they can help secure the prosperity of the Alpine Space.

The real treasure of the Alps

A Swiss energy producer is to receive a prize for finding a successful compromise between the protection and use of water: while the head of the Upper Allgäu district authority has approved the building of a small power plant in a protected area over the head of his own officials. Two examples of the tension existing between conservation and the energy transition.

Energy & nature in the Alps: a balancing act. - Perpetual Calendar

This perpetual calendar explains the main project findings, in particular to decision-makers from local to Alps-wide level. It takes readers through the decision-making process that the fictional town of “Alpine Vale” goes through when discussing the potential use of renewable energy.

Youthful ideas for “My Green Alps”

What will it take for residents of the Alps to take responsibility for their own habitat? Participants of the Youth Parliament of the Alpine Convention provided some answers at Kamnik in Slovenia.

Energy and nature in the Alps: a balancing act

How do we manage the balancing act between renewable energy production and nature conservation in the Alps? The final conference of the recharge.green project can provide the answers. Organised by CIPRA, it will take place from 20 to 21 May 2015 in Sonthofen, Germany.