The French Minister for Ecological Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher presented Thursday a plan aimed at protecting glaciers and protecting populations against the hazards linked to their melting.
These measures, detailed during a trip to Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (Haute-Savoie, southeast), are part of the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change (PNACC) which aims to prepare the country for the consequences of a 4°C rise in temperatures by the end of the century.
The Alps and Pyrenees massifs are particularly vulnerable to warming, with temperatures which have already increased by 2°C in the 20th century, compared to +1.4°C in the rest of France. French glaciers have lost 25% of their surface area in half a century and, at this rate, scientists believe that there will be almost no more by 2100.
‘We realize how much we have to lose if we don’t act now,’ the minister said. ‘While 2025 will be the international year of glacier conservation, the time for action is now,’ she added, presenting her plan.
The first part concerns the prevention of risks linked to glaciers, including ‘the creation of lakes and pockets of underground water which can suddenly rupture and flow into the valley’. To protect against this, the ministry recommends carrying out ‘removal of doubts’ in the 360 risk areas identified for the Alps.
550 glaciers
According to glaciologists, France has some 550 glaciers, a ‘small handful’ of which can be considered potentially dangerous for populations living downstream. Operations to drain glacial lakes have already been carried out in the past, notably in Mont-Blanc.
Second axis: the government intends to better protect glaciers as well as the natural spaces that will emerge after their retreat, thereby encouraging ‘biodiversity (which) is reestablishing itself in completely virgin territories’. According to scientists, these spaces will have a ‘major role’ to play in the future in mitigating and adapting to climate change.
Finally, the plan plans to strengthen state support for mountainous territories.
The government hopes to release funds for these actions by ‘examining all existing mechanisms, in particular the Avenir Montagnes fund, so that it contributes more to adaptation to climate change in the mountains’, according to the government.
/ATS
