Shifting paradigms to solve climate change
[Music]
hello to everyone
i’m bertrand piccard the chairman of the
solar impulse foundation
there is a philosophical way to protect
the environment
it is to say that nature is beautiful
but fragile
it is to say that life on this planet is
a miracle
but is it enough i don’t think so
since years we have heard that we must
protect the environment but we are still
destroying it
since years we’re hearing that to
protect the environment we have to put a
lot of
money a lot of subsidies that we have to
pay
a lot that we have to reduce mobility
sacrifice our comfort and it has not
been motivating
so when we speak about innovation it’s
not only technological innovation
it’s also innovation in the way we think
can we find another paradigm can we get
rid
of everything that did not work until
now this is what i’m trying to do with
the solar impulse foundation
because the leaders of this planet the
key decision makers
they are not thinking in the
philosophical way about the environment
their needs their language their words
are about job creation profit
and sometimes selfish personal interest
so it doesn’t match with philosophy the
question today is
can we respond to the need of protecting
the environment
and at the same time speak the language
of the people we want to convince
i believe yes we need to show
that today thanks to technological
innovation
protection of the environment has become
financially profitable
that it can create more jobs than
destroying the environment
and this is why we have initiated the 1
000
solution challenge at the solar impulse
foundation
to identify everywhere in the world
1 000 technologies processes
products materials devices
that can create new business
opportunities
that can bring profit that can
create jobs and at the same time
protect the environment and fix climate
change
in the beginning of course everybody
told me it’s impossible exactly like
when i wanted to
fly around the world in a balloon and
then to fly around the world
in the solar powered airplane but today
we have these 1000 solutions
and they protect the environment in the
field of water energy
construction mobility agriculture
industry
but what is very disappointing is to see
that all those solutions
exist although they protect the
environment although they make money
they create jobs
they are not known enough and
they are not used and why aren’t they
used
because the legal framework
is so much outdated being based on
old technologies that today a lot of
people will tell you
maybe i pollute but it’s completely
legal
what i do is legal although it destroys
the environment
so for a long time it was not possible
to make a new legal framework
because the technology would not allow
it but today
does today the master word
that i would like you to remember is
efficiency
efficiency we waste
75 of the energy half of the food we
produce
half of the natural resources we waste
95 percent
of the waste because people don’t even
understand that waste is a resource
so we live in a society that is wasting
and all this waste
all these losses cost a lot of money
so efficiency pays by itself
so speaking of innovation here is also
economical
innovation it’s the way to be
politically innovative also
to adapt the legal framework
to the reality of what the technologies
allow us to do today so we need to
work with governments we need to work
with big corporations
we need to modernize everything
modernize everything can you imagine
modernize everything
maybe it would cost a lot and it would
be impossible or it would be profitable
and it’s the business opportunity of the
century
and i believe this is the case so we are
not anymore
in the situation where we have to choose
between
degrowth that brings
social chaos or the so-called
illimited quantitative growth
that leads to ecological disaster no
there is the third way which is the
qualitative growth the qualitative
growth
is when you create jobs and you make
money
by replacing what is polluting by what
is protecting the environment
and this is where we can go today so we
have to spread this message
because speaking about all the problems
this was okay 30 or 20 years ago even 10
years ago
now we have to speak of solutions the
solutions exist
the innovators have produced
what we need today and can you imagine
innovation brings innovation because
with new innovations
we open new fields of implementation
that will bring
even more innovations
but of course we have to create the need
for this create the need
this is putting for example
a co2 tax this is to put
standards and norms for the environment
criterium
in a way that is much tougher
that is much more demanding so the
technology will answer
to these new needs you see how exciting
it is
how exciting it is it’s not anymore
something boring like we were saying
before
we don’t need to say nature is beautiful
to save it
even the climate change deniers today if
they want to be logical
even more than ecological are able
to develop the business opportunity of
the century
implementing all these new technologies
being more efficient
it pays for itself it’s not a cost it’s
an
investment so there is hope
there is hope because there is a
possible action so let’s act
let’s act now implement technologies
implement
all these solutions they are available
the soil impulse foundation has made the
work with a thousand innovators with
experts with partners with industry
corporations political leaders now
it’s time to take it further thanks to
you
good luck thank you
you