Andorra

Situated in the Pyrenees Mountains along the French–Spanish border, Andorra encompasses approximately 180 sq. mi. (466 sq. km), an area the size of New Orleans, Louisiana. The estimated population of 80,000 inhabits a region with a cool, temperate climate amid mountainous terrain. The majority of economic revenue comes from tourism and regional agricultural specialization, both industries with links to climate change. With nearly 12 million visitors per year, tourism comprises over 80 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Roadways are limited and inadequate, making stagnant traffic commonplace. Pollution swells during the peak winter and summer tourist seasons, reducing air quality and concentrating greenhouse gases in the valleys. These conditions are exacerbated by high carbon dioxide emissions from low-grade-coal-burning power plants in Andorra and northern Spain.

The stronghold of Andorran tourism is the ski industry. Like much of mountainous Europe, Andorra has seen snowfall amounts decline and winter seasons considerably shortened in recent decades. Global climate models indicate that European locations below 1,500 mi. (2,414 km) are most vulnerable to permanent snow loss. Unlike many Alpine locations, Andorran ski resorts are largely above this critical altitude. Snow reduction impacts include a decrease in tourists, investment in snowmaking machines, cancellation of winter events, and expansion of alpine grasslands. Diminished tourism revenue has prompted a recently proposed corporate tax, a controversial initiative for a historically tax-free state.

The Andorran Weather Service, established in 1980 as a joint effort with Meteo-France to homogenize data for the region, conducts climate monitoring. The service has three automated weather stations and seven manual ski resort stations. Continuous weather data began in 1934, with three stations (Ransol's Dam, Casa del Guàrdia d'Engolasters, and the Central) providing the primary historical climate record. The temperate Mediterranean climate is characterized by cold, wet winters with abundant snowfall, as well as warm, dry summers; however, climate conditions are extremely variable due to the highland environment. The annual temperature of the capital, Andorra la'Vella, averages between 30 degrees F (minus 1 degree C) and 68 degrees F (20 degrees C), and precipitation between a low of 1.3 in. (3.4 cm) in July to a high of 3 in. (7.6 cm) in April.

Andorra is not active in global climate change policy, and state-sponsored efforts are minimal compared with the European community as a whole. Despite close socioeconomic ties with France and Spain, Andorra has not followed the climate initiatives of its neighbors by ratifying the Kyoto Protocol. Andorra maintains neutrality and an observer status of these proceedings, a similar position retained by the Vatican City, the only other European state not to have ratified the protocol. However, on March 2, 2011, Andorra acceded to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCC), nearly 20 years after [Page 51]the first members ratified the treaty in 1992. The UNFCC convention entered into force on May 11, 2011, for Andorra, which became the 195th party to facilitate the development and implementation of measures designed to mitigate and adapt to anthropogenic climate change.