Skiing: faced with climate change, the French economic model is “running out of steam”

Europe 1 with AFP 10:54 a.m., February 6, 2024

Faced with climate change, the "economic model of French skiing is running out of steam" and "adaptation policies remain below the challenges", estimates the Court of Auditors in a report made public on Tuesday, a few days before the winter holidays . “Starting in the 2000s, the decline in ski activity and the growing unsuitability of the resorts' real estate assets began to weaken the financial balance of the ski lifts and the local economy which partly results from it,” writes the Court. accounts.

Diversification for the moment focused... on snow production

“A phenomenon accentuated by climate change (...) with an accelerating rise in temperatures”, according to the Court. “Climate projections show a medium-term accentuation” of the phenomenon, she warns, “all ski resorts will be more or less affected by 2050” and only “a few resorts could hope to continue operating in the beyond this deadline. However, deplores the Court of Auditors, "the adaptation policies carried out by mountain stakeholders are essentially based on the production of snow" which has "a short-term effect" because "its cost is significant and its effectiveness tends to decrease. reduce with rising temperatures.

Without forgetting "the impact of snow production on water resources" which appears "underestimated in many territories", underlines the report which considers that "it would be necessary for water withdrawal authorizations intended for snow production take greater account of climate prospects. As for actions to diversify activities, they “are rarely backed by a real project”, judges the Court of Auditors. “Carried out over time, they often tend to reproduce the ski model, based on significant investments and high attendance without a business plan to establish their economic relevance” and “the initiatives of local authorities are poorly coordinated with each other.

No real dynamic of change?

The report also highlights "the State's ecological planning, which is not very operational for the mountain tourism sector", which "does not make it possible to drive a real dynamic of change" and considers that the same is true for the regions. “A fundamental reorientation of public spending according to the climatic and economic reality of each territory must be considered,” she believes.

The Court of Auditors also proposes to set up governance for mountain resorts that no longer falls under the sole responsibility of the municipal level. Finally, it suggests setting up a climate change adaptation fund intended to finance actions to diversify and dismantle installations.