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Solemn vigils for dying glaciers

Many Alpine glaciers have already disappeared due to global warming. In September 2019, vigils in Italy and Switzerland drew attention to this fact.

Nature providing services in the Alps

Whether mountain forests that protect us from avalanches and clean our air, or rivers and alpine pastures that provide us drinking water, energy or nourishment: in the AlpES Project ten partner organisations from six alpine countries have evaluated and documented ecosystem services for the past three years. They will present their results on 21st and 22nd November 2018 at a Final Event in Innsbruck/A. Press representatives are kindly invited to attend.

Cross-border mobility

[Project completed] Tens of thousands of commuters move across national borders every day in the Alpine region. Existing traffic routes, however, were mostly built with a purely national perspective and are not geared to cross-border commuter flows. The result is overloaded roads, noise and pollution for local residents.

Climate

Bogs – a way out of the climate swamp

One hectare of bog can store as much CO2 as a car produces in a year. The Alps suffer from some of the world’s heaviest traffic – yet fewer and fewer intact bogs remain.

Alpine Partnership for Local Climate Action (ALPACA)

[Project completed] Rising temperatures, rockfalls, lack of snow: global warming is clearly noticeable in the Alpine region. The «Alpine Partnership for Local Climate Action» has the intention to bring together cities, municipalities and networks in order to work together for more climate protection. With this initiative, CIPRA International, «Alliance in the Alps» and «Alpine Town of the Year» want to strengthen the transregional exchange of knowledge and experience. The goal of positioning the Alps as a model region for climate protection is also in line with the Alpine Convention.

The Alps as the focus of climate policy

Temperatures in the Alps are rising faster than the global average. The search for solutions is not limited to the World Climate Conference being held in Bonn, Germany.

Partnership of Alpine communities for climate protection

CIPRA International presented the idea of a Climate Partnership of Alpine Communities at the opening day of the 2017 World Climate Summit in Bonn, Germany. In partnership with the “Alliance in the Alps” and “Alpine Town of the Year” networks, as well as the support of the German Federal Ministry of the Environment, CIPRA International wants to actively strengthen the role of towns and cities in the Alpine region in increasing climate protection in the coming years.

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.

Polluted glaciers

Pesticides, herbicides, medicines – all these materials were found at over 2,700 metres above sea level. The water flowing down from the Presena glacier into the valley reflects this state of affairs.

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.

The Alps are losing their snow

A recently published study shows that winters are ever shorter and the amount of snow is decreasing. The main reason for long winters becoming more and more a thing of the past is the earlier spring thaw.

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.

A toolbox for climate change

Climate change is a fact. Its complexity, however, means that it remains an abstract notion for regional decision-makers. CIPRA, together with its partners, is supporting Alpine regions.

Strange but true...

When it comes to superlatives, the French also want to get in on the act.

Hochparterre: Constructive Alps

In a special issue of the architecture magazine Hochparterre the four winners and all the nominees of the final round of Constructive Alps, the International award for sustainable renovation and new building in the Alps. In German with English summaries.

Point of view: Change begins in the heart

Claire Simon, Executive Director of CIPRA International, used the occasion of the 2015 CIPRA annual conference to call for more engagement with people and their ways of thinking in order to strengthen the natural and cultural diversity of the Alps.

Strange but true...

Alpine glaciers are a skiing venue in the middle of summer, they supply villages and towns with drinking water and even provide a habitat for glacier fleas.

Appeal: Climate change mitigation now!

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

Helping ecosystems in Europe to adapt to climate change

This report summarises much of the work done by, and for, the Climate Change Group of the European Network of Heads of Nature Conservation Agencies (ENCA) between 2011 and 2013. The ENCA Climate Change Group is made up of experts in climate change and ecology from government conservation agencies across Europe.

Initiating change for a good life in the Alps

What does it take to ensure a good life in the Alps? What social and political changes are necessary? Answers will be provided at the annual CIPRA Conference to be held on 25 and 26 September 2015 in Ruggell, Liechtenstein.

EEA Report No 8/2014 - Adaptation of transport to climate change in Europe

Challenges and options across transport modes and stakeholders. This report explores current climate change adaptation practices concerning transport across European countries. It provides an overview on the challenges and state adaptation action, a review of a number of initiatives in different countries, and conclusions on a potential way forward. Its purpose is to stimulate discussions among the many different stakeholders concerned with transport adaptation. Opening the perspective on the transport system and sector as a whole should inspire and encourage learning from practices across modes and areas of responsibility and support efforts to mainstream adaptation within transport-related policy and practices. The factual information collected is based on data available in the Climate-ADAPT information platform, a literature review, case studies provided by many stakeholders, and a questionnaire on transport and adaptation addressed to EEA member countries in 2013.

cc.alps

[Project completed] With the compact "Water in climate change" published at the end of 2012, the project "cc.alps - climate change: looking one step further" has come to an end. In the last four years, CIPRA International together with a wide range of experts and practitioners has shown what intelligent climate activities should look like.

Strange but true!

... it’s a real “boar”! Wild pigs are conquering the Alps.

Strange but true...

... a white complexion, slim, almost dainty – truly a feast for the eyes. And, most important of all, very well developed.

Looking for answers to resource shortages

Resources are finite, including those in the Alps. What solutions are available for living a good life that do not simply depend on ever more consumption? Some answers will be provided at the CIPRA Annual Conference to be held in November 2014 in Annecy, France

Help with Decision-Making

Unused knowledge is useless knowledge. In a world of climate change, CIPRA guidelines show how to prepare for unpredictable scenarios.

Tomorrow’s climate: warmer, wetter, costlier

This winter was the second warmest in Italy and one of the wettest since 1800. The world’s largest reinsurer is now also warning of the increasing natural risks as a consequence of climate change.

Living simply - with fewer resources

(08.04.2014) The Alps are coming under increasing pressure with developments such as the energy transition, the growth of tourism and urban sprawl. But we can offset the limited nature of their natural resources with the help of cultural resources – changing our values to focus more closely on an environmentally-friendly way of life. What this entails is the subject of CIPRA’s 2013 Annual Report.

Adapting to climate change: see how it's done!

How do you make people sit up and take note of climate change? Using photos and video clips, the C3-Alps collection of examples says more than a thousand words.