- Wyss Academy
Climate neutral Region Oberland-Ost
BERN HUB | Project AUE-1
Our goal:
The tourism region Oberland East wants to become CO2 neutral. With its global standing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it seeks to set a good example and contribute significantly to the transformation process on behalf of sustainable tourism. The aim is to show that nature protection and use can go hand in hand.
In a nutshell:
Tourism regions in the Alps are disproportionately impacted by climate change. At the same time, they are also contributors to climate change and thus bear a special responsibility. The Oberland East region is ideally equipped to set a good example and become the first official CO2-neutral region in Switzerland. Until now, there was no initiative that served to define the overall objectives and roles of different actors in the process, as well as to close remaining knowledge gaps.
The project can advance innovations on behalf of all manner of tourism offerings. To begin, the conceptual basis must be established, feasibility needs to be tested, and initial implementation ideas should be deepened. On this basis, the subsequent procedural path will be determined.
A first scientific subproject has been launched. Its aim is to develop, test, and assess locally adapted climate protection innovations together with stakeholders from the region and from business, politics, and science. It further seeks to investigate what institutional, economic, infrastructural, and societal conditions serve to help or hinder the spread of innovations. To kick off, a series of workshops will be held to develop a common understanding of the challenge as well as to define incubator projects.
In collaboration with:
Amt für Umwelt und Energie des Kantons Bern AUE (Office for Environment and Energy of the Canton of Bern)