Silly Season

It's funny how at this time of year we all get a bit exited at the prospect of holidays, parties, drink and, for the lucky one's, a trip to the mountains. And what a start to the snowy season!! I'm sure you, like me, build up the anticipation by keeping a watchful eye on the Chamonix web cams and Seb's snow reports. Although I will be doing the gentle slopes of Sweden's Salen this year, I have been watching in awe as the Alps get their fair share of the beautiful white stuff. Two things have struck me though: one, I need to get my wax out, and two, it seems the climate sceptics are trying to make a comeback.

You will have undoubtedly seen that 2008 is on course for being a cold year, and the snow on the ground may be some proof of that, but this doesn't mean climate change is a myth to be busted. If anything it just shows us what life used to be like – local anecdotal evidence may not be peer reviewed but it offers a great local perspective. When I talk to the locals in my current homeland; Sweden, I get the same response – 'it's not what it used to be and the snow is unreliable'. If I look at the general data for the Swedish mountains from 1960 to 1990 they have observed almost a 2 degree rise!

Last week our leaders in the EU agreed to make a 20% reduction in CO2, by 2020. Although the final agreement was watered down and the current financial crisis was used by many as an excuse of taking limited action, it is still a significant step forward and should be welcomed. A cold 2008 will be wheeled out as an excuse not to do anything, but the reality is things are getting worse. We know the hottest years ever on the temperature record have been recorded in the last decade, we also know that glaciers are moving uphill. What is just coming out though is that we have pushed our natural carbon absorbers to the limit; new data suggests that the Oceans have lost 16% of their capacity to absorb atmospheric carbon!

Does this mean you should stay in this year and stop breathing, as the climate sceptics would suggest is the only option? Not really, unless you like that kind of thing. I would make the most of the snow, but also try and make conscious decisions i.e. car share or bus around Cham etc. Ultimately, it is our small actions multiplied by the millions who do it that will have a big impact, not just grand decisions made by our leaders. If there is anything we should take into 2009 it is that we can make a difference. If we do maybe the start to the 2008 season will return to being the norm again.

Article written by working for the European Community where he is in charge of enviromental studies.Damian Phillips, alpinist and expert snowboarder

This is the first, and let's hope not last, contribution to Chamonix Guiding.

Why is a green comment needed at all? All of us with a passion for the mountains, at any time of the year and with varying levels of experience, will have already noticed that our Alpine environment is changing. Whilst some people continue to argue about their own locality; "no change here" or "we could do with more sun anyway", the reality for the mountains is that change is happening, and fast.

In September this year the European Environment Agency released another pan EU study which shows that the mountain areas in Europe are under significant pressure and that the cryosphere (the frozen world) is under threat. Those of us who have spent time on Chamonix's glaciers will know this to be true.

To be fair politicians have woken up, but they aren't quite out of bed yet. The EU believes that global warming must not exceed two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, which will require global emissions to peak by 2020, and then be at least halved from 1990 levels by 2050. The problem is we don't yet know what the world plans to do after 2012.

This date signifies the end of the Kyoto process on reducing global greenhouse gases. What comes after that is not yet known, but the word 'Poznan' is critical.
The Poznan conference (which is in Poland and also known in jargon world as COP-14), runs between Dec. 1 and 12, and represents an important step in the international negotiations for a post Kyoto global agreement at the end of 2009 in Copenhagen. In short, lots and lots of people (9000) are meeting to arrange the next meeting in 2009, in Copenhagen!

Sounds a bit daft I know, but getting the world to change its stripes is a big deal and everyone needs to feel part of the package. And if we consider that the biggest impact from climate change will be felt by those countries who emit next to nothing compared to the west, then it's also about fairness, or at least sympathy.

But as always the US holds the key. Bush and his merry crowd of disbelievers have tried to derail all climate change talks, Obama, who is currently favouring 'change' has promised to make a difference, yeaha!

Although the whole process is shrouded in language and acronyms designed to confuse all but the seasoned climate change spotters, Poznan is critical to the mountains, as without a detailed implementation agenda for Copenhagen in 2009, there will be no post Kyoto deal. Without a deal we can be sure the future of our mountains will be without ice too!