Zero C0² emissions on the slopes by 2037, this is the commitment made by Domaines skiables de France (DSF), the professional chamber of 238 operators of ski lifts and ski areas, i.e. almost all of the slopes of the five French massifs.
This carbon neutrality constitutes the first of the five components - “climate and energy”, “water and agriculture”, “biodiversity”, “landscapes” and “waste” - of the environmental charter established by DSF against a backdrop of global warming.
This green charter does not fall from the sky.
In November 2019, DSF had already announced the color for April 2020. The health crisis will have just delayed it by a few months.
It is ultimately not worse.
After the first heavy snowfall and two months before the start of the 2020-2021 sliding season, it will arouse even more interest from government authorities.
"We are the first profession to take this initiative",
affirms Alexandre Maulin, president of DSF, received at the beginning of the week at the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
Read also: Ski areas rely on green energy to preserve the mountain
It's also the best time to educate the public, starting, of course, with skiers.
“Our commitments correspond to customer expectations
,” emphasizes Alexandre Maulin.
According to satisfaction surveys carried out last winter on around 40 ski areas, more than a third of skiers say they are interested in respecting the environment in the resorts ”.
So on the track for some explanations, a bit technical sometimes for the layman but all the more surprising as they often sweep away certain received ideas.
94% of CO2 emissions come from snow groomers
The next generation of snow groomers will run on hydrogen.
Prinoth
So the carbon footprint.
Currently, only 2% of CO2 emissions are due to the snow cannons so often criticized -
"In France, we are lucky that electricity is 95% carbon-free",
recalls the president of DSF.
As for ski lifts, they only generate 4% of these emissions.
But all the rest, 94%, comes from snow groomers.
In this case, provocative question, why not remove the carpet from the slopes and ski off-road, as before, in the 1960s?
After all, vintage style is trendy ...
"Damage has its virtues
," retorts Alexandre Maulin.
Not only does it facilitate learning and the pleasure of sliding, but the snow not packed by the machines melts twice as quickly.
And on an economic level, ski areas represent 17,000 direct jobs and 120,000 in all at the resort level ”
.
So what to do?
“Support the emergence of the hydrogen groomer, a technology on which machine manufacturers are already working.
We are committed to helping them by guaranteeing them a market, while at the same time considering the production, on a valley scale, of carbon-free hydrogen from water and green electricity ”.
Obviously, all this will not happen overnight, hence the 2037 deadline adopted by DSF to achieve total carbon neutrality on the tracks.
However,
“within three years, all ski areas will have achieved their carbon footprint and shown that efforts have been made by training machine operators in eco-driving now.
Ditto for the ski lifts: no need to run them at their maximum speed if there is no waiting
at the start. "
Does this mean that we are going to spend too long on the chairlifts?
"No, it will take just a minute or two more to go up, the skiers will not even notice it"
, reassures Alexandre Maulin.
Within three years, all ski areas will have achieved their carbon footprint
The second commitment, “water and agriculture”, concerns “hill reservoirs” or “altitude reservoirs”, these water reserves intended for the production of artificial snow.
Although they have multiplied in ski areas in recent years, they are not numerous enough.
“In our charter, operators who consume more than 100,000 m3 of water per season, or about 40% of the total, undertake to build more reservoirs in order to reduce the impact of snowmaking on the natural aquatic environment ”
, announces Alexandre Maulin.
In the mountains, in fact, it is in spring, from March to June, that there is the most water, between the snowmelt and the rains.
So at the end of the ski season or after when you no longer need to make snow.
While in November and the first frost, the snow cannons are in full swing to provide an underlay.
"At that time, it is therefore better to draw on our reserves rather than use the water of the territory,"
explains Alexandre Maulin.
In addition, in the event of a summer drought, these altitude reservoirs are available to farmers to water the grazing herds, it is more practical and more ecological than bringing water in a 4x4 from the valley ”.
Inventory of fauna and flora
France has the largest sliding ground on the planet.
Superdévoluy Tourism
Question "biodiversity", the third part of the charter, the ski areas undertake to make an inventory of the fauna and flora within five years.
The protection of species already exists - such as the Tueda reserve in Savoy on the slopes of Méribel - but it will thus become systematic.
Example: in areas where black grouse live and, in the Pyrenees, capercaillie, the lift cables, which are not very visible to birds, will be better marked.
Read also: Les Sybelles, a little-known nugget of alpine skiing in Savoie
As for the fourth point, “landscapes”, it concerns in particular the 100% revegetation of work areas (new slopes, installation of ski lifts, etc.) in ski areas.
“This is to prevent soil erosion and help nature regain its rights as quickly as possible.
Which still requires three to five years but against ten to twenty years if we do not re-grass,
details Alexandre Maulin.
And we are also committed to using only endemic seeds ”.
Finally, in the “waste” chapter, a collection operation will be organized in all areas - most of them already doing so - after the snow has melted.
And everywhere, efforts will be made to educate skiers and hikers to leave the mountain clean.
"The DSF charter, to which all our members will comply, aims to demonstrate that tourism is capable of working in harmony with the territories"
, concludes Alexandre Maulin.
France, it should be remembered, has the largest sliding terrain on the whole ski planet.
The fact remains that these developed snowfields only represent a Lilliputian part of our mountains: 25,000 ha of slopes or, excluding slopes included, 120,000 ha, that is, respectively, 0.2% and 1.4% of the highlands of five massive.
