University Of Innsbruck Asks How Sustainable Snow-Covered Slopes Are

Using Canada as an example, scientists from the Universities of Innsbruck and Waterloo examined the environmental impact of artificial snowmaking and its influence on the sustainability of ski tourism. High water and energy consumption and the associated CO2 emissions have a negative impact on the environmental balance; energy from renewable sources can make winter sports significantly more sustainable.

Natural snowfall is increasingly absent in winter, even in our latitudes. The ski areas have long since responded to this and are using artificial snow to prepare their ski slopes. The geographer and economist Robert Steiger from the Institute of Finance at the University of Innsbruck worked with Canadian scientists to investigate whether snowmaking represents a misadaptation to climate change in terms of resource consumption and CO2 emissions. “The sustainability of ski tourism depends to a large extent on resource consumption and emissions,” says Robert Steiger. “We therefore examined the water and energy consumption and the resulting CO2 emissions of the ski industry in Canada. The results can also be transferred to the situation in Central Europe.”

Significantly more artificial snow will be necessary in the future

The first national study to assess the impact of artificial snowmaking shows the extent of this adaptation to climate change. In Canada alone, in an average winter, the annual energy consumption of nearly 17,000 households is needed to produce an estimated 42 million cubic meters of machine-made snow. This results in around 130,000 tons of CO2 being released every year.

Because global warming will require even more snow to be produced in the future, water and energy needs will continue to rise, even if average ski seasons become shorter in the coming decades. In Canada, the need for snowmaking will increase between 55% and 97% by 2050, according to the study in the journal Current Issues in Tourism. In Austria, the additional demand is between 62 and 105% by 2050, depending on the climate scenario used. This is shown by earlier studies by Robert Steiger's team. Water and energy requirements will increase proportionally with the snow produced.

Emissions depend heavily on the energy source

“The extent of emissions from artificial snowmaking depends to a very large extent on the energy used,” emphasizes Robert Steiger. “If you take the average emissions of our current electricity consumption in Austria as a basis, around 200 g of CO2 are produced per kilowatt hour. When using green electricity, CO2 emissions fall to around 10 g per kilowatt hour.”
In order to make snowmaking and thus skiing more sustainable, the scientists are calling for a joint initiative from ski resort operators, political decision-makers, environmental organizations and skiers to develop comprehensive strategies and practices. Sustainability should be a priority when addressing the challenges of climate change and its associated impacts on snowpack. “This includes promoting innovations and investments in energy-efficient snowmaking technologies, promoting water-saving measures and accelerating the transformation towards renewable energy,” emphasizes Robert Steiger.

Holistic perspective important

To assess whether snowmaking can actually help reduce overall emissions from tourism, the overall picture of the ski industry must be assessed. It plays a role whether skiers move to more distant, snow-sure ski areas if skiing is no longer possible at lower altitudes. In addition, whether snowmaking can contribute to the sustainability of a ski area also depends heavily on the local conditions. “Winter sports are of great economic importance in many regions of our country,” says Robert Steiger. “We therefore have to do everything we can to make ski operations as sustainable as possible. Energetic promotion of the decarbonization of our energy supply can make an important contribution to this,” emphasizes the scientist, who also sees a significant need for research in the future: “For a truly sustainable strategy, a holistic analysis is absolutely necessary.”

Publication: Sustainability of Snowmaking as Climate Change (mal)Adaptation: An Assessment of Water, Energy, and Emissions in Canada's Ski Industry, Current Issues in Tourism (2023). DOI: 10.1080/13683500.2023.2214358
www.uibk.ac.at