60th Meeting of the Permanent Committee of the Alpine Convention
"The Alps in Paris" was just one of the items on the agenda addressed by the Alpine Convention and observers in Innsbruck. But it was a characteristic one for the 60th meeting of the Convention’s Permanent Committee, which took place on 25 and 26 February 2016, because the Alpine Convention representatives chose the theme "Climate action and adaptation to climate change" as the central focus for their first meeting this year. "The Alps in Paris" was not only a report about the participation of the Alpine Convention’s Permanent Secretariat and the German Presidency in Paris climate negotiations. It also recognised the Paris agreement as a major success and, above all, made clear that the Alpine countries must step up their activities and initiatives for implementing the climate action plan they adopted in 2009. Initial ideas will be submitted by the end of April and will come under discussion in the upcoming Permanent Committee meeting in June 2016 in Sonthofen.
A presentation made by the PermaNet project showed clearly how urgently the challenges of climate change must be confronted and how climate change, particularly in the High Alps regions, is visibly advancing. Researchers from all of the Alpine countries have observed permafrost thawing throughout the region. This causes more frequent rockfalls that can pose considerable danger to life and limb. More than once, hiking trails have had to be diverted, roads for vehicles closed, and foundations for ski lift infrastructure renovated.
Multiple points, however, brought to light the fact that the Alpine region’s inhabitants are actively involved in climate action and contributing to reduction of global warming’s impacts. The International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA), for example, reported on its municipal climate action conference, which brought together representatives from towns and communities in Benediktbeuern in the fall of last year. Initiatives under discussion at the conference ranged from sustainable mobility, climate-friendly procurement and waste disposal all the way to consultation and education measures. SEAP Alps, another project, demonstrated methods for supporting local authorities in developing and implementing action plans on sustainable energy management for municipal property. Forty-six action plans and 13 investment plans for public buildings were created as examples. SEAP Alps, like PermaNet, is supported by the EU Alpine Space Programme. Follow-up projects are already running or in development.
Climate change and adaptation to climate change are among the main priorities of the German Presidency’s programme. The Presidency reported on the implementation of its plans such as the upcoming workshop on increasing energy efficiency in accommodation and catering/hospitality in the Alpine region. In addition, a project overview is being compiled including, for example, projects which have found exemplary solutions for combining the expansion of renewable energy and nature conservation. Before passing the torch to the successor Presidency, Austria, Germany aims to complete the Alpine Convention’s new multi-year work programme, which will run until 2022. The Innsbruck meeting made one thing quite clear: climate action will receive top billing in the new programme.