French ski resorts warned fake snow will only worsen climate impacts

France's ski resorts this week kicked off their peak holiday period to stark warnings from the Court of Auditors that their operating model is "running out of steam" in the face of climate impacts, which are more pronounced in mountainous regions.

With almost 54 million skier visits annually, France ranks as the world's second-most popular ski destination behind the United States. But diminishing snow poses a major threat to the sustainability of the country's alpine holiday spots.

The Court of Auditors, a financial oversight body, predicted that only a few would survive beyond the year 2050 – mostly because of drawbacks linked to artificial snow production.

Faced with warmer conditions, ski resorts rely heavily on artificial snow. Figures from the National Agency for Territorial Cohesion showed that 39 percent of French slopes were covered with manufactured snow during the 2022 season.

The snow's production has its own carbon footprint, bringing associated energy costs as well as potential conflicts over water allocation. Making the snow itself will also become harder as temperatures continue to rise.

Add to that recent criticism by environmental NGOs who say trucking snow from one location to another – in one case 70 tons was delivered to a ski resort in the Vosges – is unsustainable.

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'No magic solution'

Guillaume Dolques, from the Institute for Climate Economics, told RFI there was no one-size-fits-all magic formula that could serve as a solution for ski resorts facing an existential crisis.

“Each mountain region will have to ask itself the question of how it can reinvent itself by reappropriating its history, its know-how and its industrial knowledge,” Dolques said.

“It won't just be a question of replacing the tourism model.”

Ski resorts in France – the only candidate to host the 2030 Winter Olympics – are already financially fragile and partly reliant on funding from the state.

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Attempts by some areas to diversify have been criticised by the Court of Auditors for lacking coordination and risking potential competition between resorts.

Industry organisations and the mayors of mountain resorts, however, argue their adaptation efforts are being underestimated.

Concerns over the environment and of perpetuating an outdated ski tourism model have spurred some opposition to France hosting the Winter Games.

Dolques told RFI the Olympics could be used as a lever for transition, but that investments would need to be directed at real adaptation.

Investing in snowmaking machines, he said, would be a serious mistake.