EUSALP AG - Cross cutting Priorities 2023-25

Read the Cross cutting priorities for 2023-2025

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Promoting Digitalisation for the Alps

The pandemic has emphasized the importance of digitalisation not only for urbanised areas but also for developing rural and mountain areas.
That is why AG5 - in collaboration with AG1, AG2, AG3, and AG9 - intends to identify different ways of promoting networking on the main priorities for digital transition in the Alpine region.
The idea is to support local communities and economic players through 5 main pillars:

• Smart and sustainable communities
• Key enabling technologies for local economic players
• Data economy enabled by data spaces and open platforms
• Co-working and remote working
• Digital skills and learning

By carrying out specific actions in these pillars, the AGs want to understand how digital technology and innovative approaches can encourage new generations to settle in the Alps, thus creating smart, booming, and sustainable communities. These new approaches must be smartly linked to existing structures to prevent social conflicts (i.e., the digital divide).

Accelerating the Energy Transition for a Carbon-Neutral Alpine Region

The current energy crisis has shown how urgent the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is. This priority will focus on:

• Fast-tracking the adoption of green and low-carbon hydrogen in the Alpine region, in accordance with the REPowerEU strategy that “recognizes the role of the MRS [macro-regional strategies] in promoting cooperation in investments in hydrogen infrastructure”. Alpine regions are very proactive in fostering hydrogen production, storage, transportation, distribution, and use for mobility and industrial purposes.
• Strengthening the process of incorporating hydrogen in regional policies.
• Exchanging data on strategies for mobilising European funds to implement hydrogen infrastructure, with regions supporting each other in the dedicated EU calls, so that they can invest and thus ensure the continuity of hydrogen infrastructure in the Alps.
• Enabling local authorities and stakeholders to understand the challenges of hydrogen and to launch local projects in pilot areas.
• Facilitating the decarbonisation of the transport sector, which thus far has failed in promoting the use of renewable energy sources, bearing in mind that measures to decarbonise transport should follow the “avoid-shift-improve” approach.

Promoting a Joint Water Management Transition

For 2023-2025, the Action Groups have proposed to set up a EUSALP Task Force on water management transition to secure and preserve resources. This proposal meets one of the four defined cross-cutting priorities: promoting the sustainable management of biodiversity and natural resources, especially water. The creation of the EUSALP Task Force “Water Management Transition” is also in line with the priorities of the Swiss Presidency and ensures the follow-up of the work launched at the Scuol conference held on 15 June 2023.

Boosting Circular Economy

The circular economy is a new economic model that disrupts linear business processes by extending the life cycle of products, promoting more efficient use of our limited resources, and encouraging responsible consumption. It involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, recycling, and upcycling existing materials and products as long as possible, as well as valorising and utilising production side streams. Circular economy addresses climate change-related issues, population ageing in the Alpine area, mobility, labour (future skills), education, and many other EUSALP-relevant policies. Furthermore, the circular economy offers specific opportunities for mountain regions’ sustainable enhancement and promotion. Several EUSALP Action Groups will address this horizontal economic principle, as it represents a unique opportunity to create joint innovative actions, extend value chains, set up new tools, and develop cross-border financial instruments and projects that foster the sustainable use of limited Alpine resources (water, wood, metals, food) as well as the use of clean and green energy.