News
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How much hydropower is ecologically sustainable ?
Renovate power plants instead of building new ones, preserve the last freshwater pearls, coordinate use and protection across countries: CIPRA has published a position paper with detailed technical demands on the use of hydropower in the Alps.
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Point of view: Water will not tolerate resistance
Extreme weather conditions are also increasingly affecting the Alps. The climate crisis is driving this development. Can more and more dams, barriers or power stations solve the problem and at the same time satisfy the growing hunger for energy? We must work with the power of water rather than against it, says Kaspar Schuler, CIPRA’s Executive Director and co-author of CIPRA’s new position paper on hydropower.
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Climate crisis makes mountains crumble
Rockfalls and rockslides are nothing new in the Alps, but dwindling permafrost is making the situation even worse – for mountaineering and for villages.
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Climate protection: from plan to action
The Alps as a climate-neutral, climate-resistant region by 2050: this is the objective of the newly launched “Climate Action Plan 2.0” of the Alpine Convention. Concrete steps will now follow in such areas as mountain farming, spatial planning and biodiversity.
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CO2 legislation: more courage needed
While the new CO2 law in Switzerland has for the time being failed, a climate protection alliance is forming in Bavaria; Austria is discussing a climate protection law; and in France the Climate Council is taking courageous decisions.
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Alpine plants: persistent and endangered
Spiked rue, glacier buttercup, saxifrage: the habitat of such alpine plants is shrinking with the glaciers, as a recent study shows. In addition to climate change, mountain plants are also suffering from nitrogen deposition.
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Glacier ice on a stick
Artificial ice cones and “snow ropes”: Swiss glaciologists want to save glacier ice as a water reservoir and make ski resorts more environmentally friendly. The idea comes from the Indian Himalayas.
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Youth and climate as the focus of AlpWeek
What do young people think about climate change in the Alps? This is the main theme of the AlpWeek Intermezzo, due to take place in Nice in December 2020.
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Living mountain forests
Climate protector and habitat, recreational area and timber supplier: forests have many functions, both in the natural ecosystem and for humans. CIPRA Slovenia's “GozdNega / Forest Care” project aims to convince forest owners of the benefits of climate-friendly management.
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Climate change: Merano’s strategy for a better quality of life
Trees instead of parking spaces and support for the population during hot spells – with a total of 19 measures like these, the city of Merano/I is countering the effects of climate change. Experts, interest groups and young people have worked together to develop the strategy.