Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics: Doctors’ call for the environment

There are still more than three years to go Olympic Winter Games Milan-Cortina, the world sporting event that will see Italy as the protagonist. The hot summer with record temperatures that will become more frequent will make it increasingly difficult to hold the Winter Games. THE glaciers they continue to shrink, causing environmental and human tragedies. One of the most famous examples of recent times is the collapse of the Marmolada with the death of 11 people. After this last tragedy, others will follow that are even more dramatic.

To avoid aggravating the seriousness of the situation i doctors for the environment they therefore decided to appeal to politics to review the development of the Olympics.

The 2026 Olympics will have a negative impact on the evolution of the climate-environmental crisis manifesting itself with dramatic acceleration at the global and local levels. Common sense requires an act of responsibility and rethinking the nature of the project. The phenomena we observe (drought, heat waves, collapse of glacial volumes, floods, landslides, storms like that of Vaia, etc.) have a clear anthropogenic origin and show their devastating effects on ecological dynamics and human health, both on a local scale and on a planetary scale. Installations for the ski industry threaten to irreversibly change the landscape and cause incalculable effects and costs in the medium and long term. Just think of the enormous consumption of water and energy required for artificial snow. The increase in construction work and services for tourists during the ski season also causes direct damage, such as soil erosion, which is added to indirect damage, such as urbanization and traffic. We believe that it is essential that the interventions are limited to the maintenance of existing infrastructures and that no new works are carried out, thereby prevailing a perspective of rethinking the use, value and preservation of the mountain.

environmental doctors in a statement

In practice, it is requested to preserve the social and ecological function of the mountain in order to also cater to tourism. We need initiatives without environmental impact. Able to guarantee the economy of the interior and villages of great cultural wealth and historical importance.

These are the only conditions that make it possible to host the 2026 Winter Olympics. The Alps must be an area of ​​high historical, ecological and cultural level to be the setting for the event.