Climate change cost U.S. ski industry billions, study says, and future depends on emissions

By BRITTANY PETERSON
Associated Press

DENVER (AP) — A new study says U.S. ski areas lost $5 billion from 2000 to 2019 as a result of human-caused climate change. The study estimates annual losses could rise to around $1 billion by the 2050s depending on what’s done to lower the emissions that are causing warming. A co-author said people may not care about climate change affecting faraway species, but they often care about sports — and they can see changes happening at ski resorts. The study’s modeling found that resort seasons were shorter by about 5 1/2 to 7 days compared to the period before human-caused warming began. Then it calculated increased operating costs — mainly snowmaking — as well as the lost days of skiing.