The 3rd Alpine Climate Summit brings pioneering projects to the stage.

For two days, the Zugspitze became the meeting place for discussions about the future of the Alpine region: The 3rd Alpine Climate Summit focused on how to translate insights into concrete responsibility and actionable steps. Accordingly, the spotlight was on key players in driving change, including the finalists of the inaugural Alps Future Award. Discussions covered current climate data, energy sovereignty, risks to infrastructure and security, the transformation of tourism, the impact on sporting events, and agriculture and communication as levers for change.

Around 40 experts discussed various topics over two days in 14 panels and presentations before approximately 200 participants and students from the German Sport University Cologne, MCI, and the University of Innsbruck. The conclusion was clear: The Alpine region possesses data, concepts, and pioneering spirit – what now matters is the determination to implement them. “The Alpine region is not an abstract object of research – it is a habitat that is changing in real time. What we need now is interdisciplinary exchange and the courage to change. The Alpine Climate Summit provides the perfect platform for both,” said Andrea Fischer (scientist at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, glaciologist, Scientist of the Year 2023, Advisory Board Alpine Climate Summit).

“This year’s Alpine Climate Summit has shown how important it is to conduct the dialogue about the future of the Alpine region precisely where the changes become visible. For the Tyrolean Zugspitz Arena, it is a great responsibility to provide the platform for this exchange – and at the same time a strong signal that tourism, science, business and politics are working together on solutions,” summarizes Theo Zoller , Chairman of the Tyrolean Zugspitz Arena Tourism Association.

“With its third edition, the Alpine Climate Summit has established itself as an important platform for climate adaptation, sustainability, and future viability in the Alpine region. Its unique selling point is the combination of location, content, and stakeholders. Science, business, politics, tourism, sports, media, and civil society come together here not only to discuss challenges but also to develop solutions together,” said Ralf Roth (Head of the Institute for Outdoor Sports and Environmental Research at the German Sport University Cologne, initiator of the DA-CH network “Climate.Sport.Snow,” Advisory Board Alpine Climate Summit).

F.acT Impulse and High-Class Speakers: On

the second day of the event, panelists included Dirk Glaesser (UN Tourism), Markus Redl (Managing Director of ecoplus Alpin GmbH), Jörn Prehn (Himmelseher Sportversicherungen), Ulrich Jakob Zeni (Head of Special Crops and Markets at the Tyrolean Chamber of Agriculture), and Valentine Troi (Scientific Director of GRWONlabs). "Around 37 billion trips are expected globally by 2030 – compared to 20 billion in 2016. This is precisely why the tourism industry's responsibility in the area of ​​sustainability is enormous," said Glaesser. At the same time, Birgit Bosio (MCI Tourism) and Jakob Hillebrand (Eurac Research), as part of the F.acT Impulse, demonstrated with the tourism observatories in Tyrol and South Tyrol how success can be measured differently in the future. Meteorologist Claudia Riedl (GeoSphere Austria) illustrated this point: “If I had to run a ski resort today, I would choose one at an altitude between 1,400 and 2,300 meters.

Glacier ski resorts present entirely different challenges, as grassy areas are significantly easier to cover with artificial snow than rocky surfaces.” In line with this, the panel discussion “Transformation Model Alps” included Berno Stoffel (Swiss Cableways Association), Reinhard Klier (Cableways Division, Tyrol Chamber of Commerce), Sybille Wiedenmann (ProAllgäu GmbH & Co), Tyrol’s environmental lawyer Johannes Kostenzer, and glaciologist Norbert Span , who discussed how knowledge can be translated into decisions. Kostenzer explained: “One guiding principle that is important to me is the regenerability of habitats; that is, what is easily and effectively regenerated can be approached flexibly. But areas that require long development periods simply deserve more respect and preservation.”

The extent to which safety issues are changing was demonstrated by contributions from Gerhard Mössmer (board member of the Austrian Board for Alpine Safety and employee of the Austrian Alpine Club, Mountain Sports Department), who observes a "kind of full-coverage mentality" in the mountains, and Hansueli Rhyner (WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research and mountain guide), who advocated adapting holiday periods to shifting seasonal patterns. The panel "Alpine Sporting Events Under Climate Stress" covered a range of topics from insurance issues to the athletes' perspective, including that of former Austrian Ski Federation (ÖSV) racer Mirjam Puchner.

Futurist Klaus KoflerIn his talk on successful sustainability communication, he explained why new imagery is needed: “If the future primarily evokes fear, people withdraw and remain stuck in the present. Therefore, we must empower people to immerse themselves in positive visions of the future and experience it as something they can shape. Because people don't learn solely through arguments, but primarily through experience.” Concrete examples of this were provided by “True Impact Stories” from agriculture, research, and entrepreneurship – including those from Martin Egger (Maschinenring Tirol), entrepreneur Tobias Neuber (ACTANOL), and Mats Mosel (Protect our Winters).

Projects with Implementation Power

During a final speed-dating session, the finalists and winners of the Alps Future Award presented their projects to a broad audience of experts – thus underscoring the motto of the 3rd Alpine Climate Summit: "Do it!" The award was presented in two categories on the eve of the summit (June 23, 2026). Further information on the award-winning projects and winners is available here. "The third Alpine Climate Summit was once again characterized by an open dialogue on equal footing, which is a hallmark of the event. As the Lebensraum Tirol Group, it is our aim to further promote this collaboration between tourism, business, science, and civil society so that visible changes emerge step by step from this dialogue," said Martin Reiter, Managing Director of the Lebensraum Tirol Group.

The Alpine Climate Summit is an interdisciplinary dialogue platform on the topic of climate change in the Alpine region. Its aim is to connect experts from science, business, health, tourism, agriculture, sports, media, politics, and civil society, to make well-founded information accessible, and to discuss concrete solutions. A team of representatives from various disciplines was formed around the organization to guarantee a high-quality program. This team includes, among others, PD Dr. Mag. Mag. Andrea Fischer (scientist at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, glaciologist, Scientist of the Year 2023) and Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ralf Roth (Head of the Institute for Outdoor Sport and Environmental Research at the German Sport University Cologne, initiator of the DA-CH network "Climate.Sport.Snow").

The Alps Future Award will be presented for the first time in 2026 as part of the Alpine Climate Summit: Initiated by the alpine-wide tourism network AlpNet and the Lebensraum Tirol Group, this award recognizes initiatives in the categories "Lebensraum Tirol" and "Tourism" that not only accompany but actively shape the change in the alpine region and shows that sustainability arises where ecological reason, economic innovation and social impact interlock.

The Tiroler Zugspitz Arena region, the Tiroler Zugspitzbahn cable car, and the Lebensraum Tirol Group with its subsidiaries Agrarmarketing Tirol, Standortagentur Tirol, and Tirol Werbung are supporting the event as presenting partners, facilitating discussions and exchange on the topic of climate in the Alps on the Zugspitze. TIWAG and Elektrizitätswerke Reutte (EWR) are supporting the event as industry partners, enabling students from various universities to participate in the Alpine Climate Summit 2026. The Innsbruck-based agency ProMedia Kommunikation is responsible for organizing the event.

Information about the speakers for 2026 and the program can be found at www.alpenklimagipfel.jetzt .