Åre kommun och klimatförändringar : En studie kring hotet mot Åre kommuns vinterturism och dess anpassning till framtida klimatförändringar

Today’s climate research shows that the climate may increase its temperature. One sector that is being threatened by global warming is the winter tourism of the Swedish municipality Åre. Tourism is an important economical source of income in Åre and is now threatened by a shortened winter season. The aim of this study is to investigate future climate scenarios and to assess how prepared Åre is for a changing climate and if the decision makers in the municipality are working on adapting to these future changes. This study contains a literary study where scientific reports and articles about similar cases to Åre are being analysed. This part of the study gives an insight in how other ski resorts have adapted to climate change. Interviews with people working within Åre municipality have been conducted in order to find out how they adapt to the changes in the climate and how their awareness on future climate changes are. An interview with a meteorologist/climatologist on the Swedish institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (SMHI) has also been conducted to try and understand the reliability of the climate change scenarios. Some of the climate scenarios studied in this study and that have formed the basis of the report have been the once from the UNs Intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC). These scenarios give a perception on the potential climate of northern Europe from 2071 to 2100. The scenarios from the UN show that the average winter temperatures around Åre will increase gradually during this time interval. The precipitation is also expected to increase which could lead to more snow in the area. In a short term Åre may favour the climate changes while ski resorts in the Alps and southern Sweden may be affected more by climate changes. Åre is, unlike many other ski resorts, working hard to adapt the climate changes by for instance focusing more and more on the summer tourism. They are also making changes in the transportation services where they try to use so-called “green power”. Åre seems to be able to maintain their winter tourism for many years to come and will probably become a famous place for summer tourism as well.