Tirol, Austria

Regional Demonstrators

Tirol is one of the most densely populated regions in Austria, situated in the Eastern Alps in the west of the country. The region is dominated by steep mountains, only 12% of the area can be utilised for permanent settlement.  

The consequences of climate change are already clearly noticeable in the Tirol region: rising temperatures, thawing of permafrost soils, and more frequent weather extremes such as heat waves or droughts. A decrease in the duration of snow cover, an increase in the duration of the vegetation period or strongly melting glaciers have an increasing impact on society, the economy, and the environment. Tirol is very vulnerable to changes in climate since a significant portion of the region’s summer and winter tourism is connected to nature. The resulting economic impact of weather and climate change-related damage has increased, amounting to a negative impact of at least annual € 2 billion in Austria. By the middle of the 21st century, only 52% of ski areas would still be snow safe.  

The Tirolean government, aligning with the Austrian strategy for climate change adaptation, integrates climate resilience into its regional sustainability plan (2021). MountResilience will help the further development of the newly established policy-instrument “Platform for Climate, Energy and Circularity”, expanding its focus to climate change adaptation measures, which are strongly needed in the region. This will involve a new tailored consulting service for climate change adaptation. The project will prototype and test innovative solutions for adaptation in the tourism sector, buildings and settlements. MountResilience will use digital solutions and create new indicators and financing methods to encourage innovation across different sectors.

Climate challenges in Tirol

• Overheating / Cooling of Buildings (Energy Agency Tyrol) ​
• Decline of snow reliability in ski areas (SAT & UIBK) ​
• Adaptability of companies and communities to the changes brought about by climate change (Climate Alliance Tyrol & Energy Agency Tyrol)

Activities

• Development of advisory services for climate change adaptation for municipalities, regions and SMEs (KBT)​
• Researching the efficiency of various active and passive measures for cooling and Development of a template for heat protection plans (EAT)​
• Development and Testing of a transition process that will create future prospect for areas severely affected by climate change (SAT & UIBK)​
• Development of a monitoring and evaluation tool for CCA to support regional data collection on adaptation efforts and impacts (UIBK)​
• Development of a funding instrument to support adaptation activities e.g. in tourism or  buildings and settlements (UIBK)