All schuss. The winter sports season is open. Every year, tourists flock to the 250 French ski resorts. A friendly holiday – between skiing, snowshoeing and tasting mountain dishes – but reserved for a privileged handful. According to the Research Center for the Study and Observation of Living Conditions (CREDOC), less than one in ten French people go to the mountains in winter. “The profile of winter sports enthusiasts is rather wealthy, young, urban. Very fond of nature and the great outdoors, they say they are sensitive to the environment without always being very aware of the impacts of their practice on the planet” specifies -he.
However, mountain holidays are far from being carbon neutral. According to a study by the Utopies firm, published by Ademe, the ecological transition agency, a day of skiing emits on average 48.9 kg of CO2 equivalent. More than half of these emissions are due to transport : plane or private car. The study specifies that a Londoner who goes to skiing by plane and taxi emits 61.7 kg of CO2, compared to only 5 if he comes by train and bus. Another example: a resident of Annecy emits 22.1 kg of CO2 when he goes there by car alone, compared to 5.5 if he takes three passengers.
After transport come housing and collective infrastructure (21% of emissions), ski equipment (16%), food (8%) and finally the ski area, which only represents 3% of CO2 emissions.
Impacts on soil, water and biodiversity
But the impact of ski resorts on the environment goes beyond just CO2 emissions. The other problem generated by this activity is the artificialization of soils, which disrupts the fauna and flora by reducing their habitat. Lucas Benard-Chenu, post-doctoral student at INRAE and CEN of Météo-France, explains to France TV that 79% of stations are built on protected areas. An observation shared by Thomas Wagner, founder of the media Bon Pote. “Animal and plant species must both deal with the artificialization of soils and climate change. When they have the choice, they migrate and/or adapt. But adaptation has limits,” he writes in an article.
Artificial snow also raises questions. Faced with global warming, resorts are increasingly using this process to maintain, or even extend, the ski season. According to a note from France Nature Environnement (FNE), artificial snow currently covers 35% of French ski slopes. This represents 20 to 25 million m3 of water per yearthe equivalent of the consumption of a city like Grenoble.
To limit the environmental impact of ski holidays, several solutions are possible. First of all, favor more economical modes of transport such as the train or carpooling rather than the plane or the private car. Renting the equipment or buying it second-hand is also an interesting option. And, according to the Utopies study, eating vegetarian can reduce the impact of diet by 75%, from 4 kg of CO2 equivalent per day to just 1 kg.
Finally, some stations undertake to reduce their impact. Of the 250 French stations, nearly thirty are labeled “Flocon Vert”. This label, developed by the Mountain Riders association, is based on 20 criteria such as waste treatment, water management, the development of renewable energies and even urbanization and housing. For Yann Lamaison, communications manager for Mountain Riders, interviewed by Ouest-France, this label allows “to maintain a ski activity in a more ecological way”.
