Climate change: Ski sport chiefs launch new sustainability guide for resorts

Ski resorts are being urged to install solar panels on ski lifts and ‘farm’ snow to help meet the challenges posed by climate change.

They are among the recommendations in a new guide from the sport’s governing body, which says climate change poses an “existential threat” to skiing and snowboarding.

Last year the International Olympic Committee (IOC) warned that only 10 countries will be able to host snow sports by 2040 because of the impact of climate change.

Now the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) has launched a Sustainability Guide for Ski Resorts, external to help such locations become more resilient in the face of rising global temperatures and lower snowfall., external

The guide contains 14 initiatives, telling resorts how to implement them and giving examples of how some measures are already under way.

“Our role is also to provide the whole FIS family with tools that can guide them in trying to reduce their environmental impact,” FIS sustainability director Susanna Sieff said.

The steps include installing solar panels on ski lifts to reduce their energy consumption, using more green energy, and encouraging skiers to use more sustainable transport by providing shuttles or setting up car pools.

Resorts are also encouraged to improve snow farming – collecting and storing snow in special facilities so it can be used again the following year.

This would also reduce the need for artificial snow, which can use a lot of energy and water.

“By adopting these 14 key initiatives, ski resorts can pave the way toward a more sustainable snow sports industry,” the FIS said.

The new guide comes after the FIS started a partnership with the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization (WMO) earlier this year “to highlight the far-reaching impacts of rising global temperatures on snow and ice cover and to establish practical initiatives”.