DAV's carbon footprint - "An important step towards climate neutrality"
The German Alpine Association has presented a comprehensive CO2 balance of all its activities for the first time and sees itself as a pioneer. According to the world's largest mountain sports association, the federal association and its 356 sections emitted around 51,000 tons of CO2 last year.
"The 2022 assessment was a real first. For us as the DAV, but also for associations as a whole, because no one in the German-speaking world has ever done such an assessment on this scale and in this depth," said DAV President Roland Stierle on Tuesday. "Now we know where we stand and what we need to do to achieve our goals."
The calculation is an "important step towards climate neutrality", which the association wants to achieve by 2030, he added. As an interim goal on this path, the DAV had already decided two years ago to reduce its emissions by 30 percent between 2022 and 2026.
At its Annual General Meeting on 10 and 11 November, the Alpine Club also decided to campaign for a speed limit of 120 kilometers per hour on freeways in the future. The delegates also included climate protection in the DAV's statutes.
According to the calculations, the majority of these emissions last year came from travel in the context of events, courses and tours. The DAV will therefore continue to intensify its measures to reduce mobility emissions, the association explained on Tuesday.
These include car pools, which can be found via a platform, and the DAV mountain bus, which takes mountaineers and excursionists to destinations in the Bavarian Alps and will become part of Munich's MVV system next year following a decision by the city council. The DAV Munich and Oberland sections launched the bus as a pilot project in 2021 to show that alternative mobility is possible in the Alps - hundreds of hikers took advantage of the offer. The DAV also promotes traveling by public transport.
During their leisure time, many DAV members participate in tourism activities, which contribute to the association's significant CO2 emissions. To offset this, the DAV is encouraging alpinists to utilize carpools or public transportation, demonstrating their commitment to reducing their carbon footprint in science-driven efforts towards climate neutrality by 2030.
Source: www.dpa.com
