18.

points out that a set of closely interrelated measures is needed to resolve existing problems and deal with future problems in sectors already covered by EU programming. It is clear that many of these decisions should be handled through European local democracy processes under the subsidiarity principle. For instance: a) achieving maximum energy efficiency of new buildings and renovating existing buildings; b) maintaining and supporting construction models for mountain areas and rural areas, with plans being drawn up for land-use planning and natural resources, allowing for urban development that is incompatible with land speculation. This will prevent the deterioration of today's landscapes, ecosystems, habitats and protected areas and the pollution of water and soil resources and will boost the growth of responsible tourism, thereby helping the population to continue living in mountain areas; c) introducing renewable energies compatible with the characteristics of the area (solar thermal and photovoltaic, wind, hydroelectric and biomass power), with a view to achieving energy self-sufficiency wherever possible; integrated regional energy plans need to be drawn up, and pumped-storage hydroelectric reservoirs used to store photovoltaic energy; d) promoting local and regional energy audits; e) reducing energy and material flows in local communities without diminishing the standard of living (e.g. 2000 W, ETH Zürich); f) reducing waste production, maximising recyclability, and encouraging the production of household compost from organic waste; g) reactivating local food chains: high-quality agriculture, primarily for local consumption and the tourist trade; specifically supporting conservation agriculture, (meaning no or minimum tillage) and organic farming and livestock-breeding; h) in forestry management, regulating the harvesting of wood biomass for energy and construction purposes, mindful of the pressures brought by climate change; ensuring that plants generating heat from biomass are not so large as to exceed annual forestry production capacity; maintaining protection forests; supporting sustainable forestry, for the production of wood and biomass, as an economic resource for these areas; i) severely limiting the use of greenfield sites for building and infrastructure; j) reducing mobility needs by reinforcing ICT networks, eservices and home-working (leading to repopulation of abandoned mountain areas and boosting tourism); k) promoting environmentally-responsible and sustainable tourism; setting up a European tourism observatory and developing agri-tourism; l) promoting a green economy and innovation in mountain areas: energy, electronics, monitoring systems, scientific research and university training centres; m) training and culture: raising public awareness of the need to act now as regards climate change is crucial both for applying good practice in this area and for the adaptation strategy. Environmental issues therefore need to be included in school curricula and made the focus of public information activities, for instance by opening regional "adaptation offices" which can draw up strategies geared to the local setting and inform the local populace. One example of this is Australia's Victorian Centre for Climate Change Adaptation Research (VCCCAR - www.vcccar.org.au) which adapts broad national policy provided by the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF - www.nccarf.edu.au) to the local environment; n) programmes for civil protection and the prevention of climate-related risks, via infrastructure, meteo-hydrological forecasting and alert systems, rapid interactive information exchange, and damage prevention and rescue exercises;