Insights and news
News — September 05, 2019
Cleaning up maritime transport
Written by Bertrand Piccard - 5min read
Three per cent. That is the contribution of the maritime sector to total global carbon emissions. It doesn’t sound all that much for a sector that ensures 90% of world trade and whose ships spend most of their time on the high-seas, out of sight and out of mind, but the predictions for climate change means that...
News — September 05, 2019
Vers un transport maritime plus propre
Written by Bertrand Piccard - 5min read
Trois pour cent. C'est la contribution du transport maritime aux émissions de carbone au niveau mondial. Cela peut sembler très peu pour un secteur qui assure 90% du commerce mondial et dont les navires passent la majeure partie du temps en haute mer, loin des yeux et des préoccupations, mais compte tenu des...
News — August 28, 2019
My speech to Heads of States at the G7 Summit
Written by Bertrand Piccard - 3min read
Dear President Macron, Excellencies,If I am here today in front of you, it is not because I flew around the world in a solar powered airplane but because I have proof that clean technologies exist and can achieve impossible goals. The good news is that in the field of the environment, these technologies have become...
Insights — August 23, 2019
Inégalités – personne n'y gagne
Written by Bertrand Piccard - 4min read
Le 26 août 2019, je m'adresserai aux chefs d'États et responsables gouvernementaux lors du 45e sommet du G7, à Biarritz, en France. L'édition de cette année se concentrera sur la lutte contre l'inégalité sous ses nombreuses formes. En effet, les disparités entre les nantis et les démunis ne constituent pas...
Insights — August 22, 2019
Inequality is holding all of us back
Written by Bertrand Piccard - 3min read
On August 26th, 2019, I will be addressing Heads of States and government officials at the 45th G7 summit, in Biarritz, France. This year's edition will focus on fighting inequality in its many forms. Indeed, disparities between the haves and the have-nots is not just a moral issue. Inequality has a...
Insights — June 21, 2019
Will airline companies cause their own crash?
Written by Bertrand Piccard
The noose is tightening around the air transport industry and only airline companies can untie the knot. They would greatly benefit in the end by becoming actors rather than victims of change. When will they understand?There are two ways to handle adverse circumstances: to try to put up a fight as long as...
Insights — June 21, 2019
Verursachen Fluggesellschaften ihren eigenen Crash?
Written by Bertrand Piccard - 3min read
Die Schlinge zieht sich immer enger um den Luftverkehr und nur die Fluggesellschaften selbst können diese lockern. Sie würden letztlich viel gewinnen, wenn sie den Wandel aktiv mitgestalten, anstatt sich nur als Opfer darzustellen. Wann werden Fluggesellschaften dies endlich begreifen?Es gibt zwei Möglichkeiten,...
News — June 18, 2019
Les compagnies aériennes vont-elles causer leur propre crash ?
Written by Bertrand Piccard - 3min read
L’étau se resserre autour du transport par avion et seules les compagnies aériennes peuvent le desserrer. Devenir actrices du changement plutôt que victimes leur rapporterait en fin de compte beaucoup. Quand le comprendront-elles ?Il y a deux façons de répondre à l’adversité : tenter de s’y opposer le...
News — June 03, 2019
Opinion. "For a European climate bank"
Written by Bertrand Piccard - 5min read
This joint Opinion Editorial is written by Ambroise Fayolle, VP of the European Investment Bank, and Bertrand Piccard, Chairman of the Solar Impulse Foundation. It was originally published in the "Journal du Dimanche" (read the original article in French) The fight against climate change has become a...
Insights — May 02, 2019
Coal once brought Europe together. Now, it’s the turn of clean energy.
Written by Bertrand Piccard - 4min read
The European project was built upon the premise of safeguarding peace by creating the European Coal and Steel Community. Coming as it did in the aftermath of WWII, Robert Schuman’s plan was truly visionary. As he himself declared, “World peace cannot be safeguarded without the making of creative efforts...
News — March 21, 2019
My round-the-world balloon flight, or the end of a carefree era
Written by Bertrand Piccard
What were you doing on Sunday, March 21st, 1999? It was such a long time ago! And yet, many of you have told me that you remember that day as if it were yesterday…Exactly 20 years ago, at 6.00am, Breitling Orbiter 3 kissed the burning hot sand of the Egyptian desert as my balloon flight around the world came to...
News — March 21, 2019
Mon Tour du Monde en ballon, ou la fin de l’insouciance
Written by Bertrand Piccard
20 après le premier tour du monde en ballon sans escale.Que faisiez-vous le dimanche 21 mars 1999 ? C’était il y a si longtemps ! Et pourtant, nombre d’entre vous me disent qu’ils s’en souviennent comme si c’était hier… Il y a exactement 20 ans, à 6 heures du matin, Breitling Orbiter 3 effleurait le sable...
News — March 21, 2019
Meine Weltumrundung im Heißluftballon oder das Ende der...
Written by Bertrand Piccard
Wissen Sie noch, was Sie am Sonntag, den 21. März 1999 gemacht haben? Nun ja, das ist schon ziemlich lange her, aber trotzdem gibt es viele Menschen, die sich daran erinnern, als ob es gestern gewesen wäre... Vor genau 20 Jahren um 6 Uhr morgens landete ich mit dem Breitling Orbiter 3 auf dem heißen...
News — February 15, 2019
Can growth save our planet ?
Written by Bertrand Piccard - 4min read
In 1901, Henry Dunant was awarded the first Nobel Peace Prize for the establishment of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the adoption of the Geneva Convention. Yet, this Swiss pioneer of humanitarian right faced fierce opposition from the pacifist movement. They believed that creating an...
News — February 15, 2019
La croissance sauvera-t-elle la planète?
Written by Bertrand Piccard
En 1901, Henri Dunant reçut le premier prix Nobel de la paix pour la création du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge et l'adoption de la Convention de Genève. Pourtant, ce pionnier suisse du droit humanitaire se heurta à une vive opposition du mouvement pacifiste. Les membres de celui-ci estimaient en...