ANALYSIS
A carbon footprint to improve: that of ski resorts. Certain practices are indignant at the government, and various associations, such as the tons of snow regularly routed by helicopter or truck, as recently on the insufficiently snow-covered slopes of Luchon Superbagnères in the Pyrenees. A click for the Ministry of Ecology, which convenes in the coming days those responsible for ski areas, to encourage them to transform part of the ski resorts and diversify their activities for greater respect for the environment.
According to the entourage of Elisabeth Borne, Minister of Ecology, "we must stop this kind of absurd initiatives". "It will no longer be a question of bringing snow to the resorts at all costs, but rather of imagining other activities", continues an adviser. The goal: to develop other activities such as hiking, mountain biking or speleology.
Build a coherent action plan
The ministry wants to identify everything that is already being done in Vercors, the Vosges or the Pyrenees, to build a coherent action plan on a national scale. We must bet on diversification, but also on technological advances to preserve the stations. In any case, this is the opinion of Alexandre Molin, president of Ski areas of France. "We are looking at how to develop a clean fuel tomorrow to be able to groom the tracks without emitting greenhouse gases. Many stations use GPS to spend less hours of snow grooming. We reduce everything that we can reduce, the GPS allows us to produce less snow because we know exactly the layer of snow under the ankles of our snow groomers, "explains Alexandre Molin.
The measures also concern the management of water, waste or renewable energies in ski resorts. The president of Ski areas of France specifies that it will be necessary to adapt the measures according to the turnover of each ski resort, varying from 15,000 euros for the smallest, to 70 million for the most important.