Insights and news
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...
News — February 15, 2019
Kann Wachstum unseren Planeten retten?
Written by Bertrand Piccard
1901 wurde Henry Dunant für die Gründung des Internationalen Komitees vom Roten Kreuz und der Annahme der Genfer Konventionen als Erster mit dem Friedensnobelpreis ausgezeichnet. Doch der Schweizer Pionier für Menschenrechte sah sich heftigem Widerstand der pazifistischen Bewegung ausgesetzt, die davon...
News — December 20, 2018
The hidden success of COP24
Written by Bertrand Piccard
Was COP24 a success? Are the decisions taken up to the challenge? Have the states been ambitious enough? For several days now, everyone has been carrying out an in-depth analysis of the results of the last COP, which was held in Poland. For my part, I spent nearly two weeks at the heart of the climate...
News — December 04, 2018
The opportunity cost of an opportunity lost, an Open Letter by...
Written by Bertrand Piccard
Dear COP24 Negotiators,During these next couple of weeks, in Katowice, Poland, you will have to decide on measures urgently needed to ensure the future quality of life on earth for humanity. That is what COP24 is all about. You understand better than most the dramatic consequences of even a small increase in...
News — October 31, 2018
Ce que mon père m'a appris...
Written by Bertrand Piccard
La plupart des enfants grandissent en entendant leurs parents leur raconter des contes de fée. Pour moi, ce furent plutôt des histoires d’exploration. Captivé, j’écoutais les récits que mon père me faisait de la conquête des pôles, de l’Everest, de l’espace, des abysses. Je découvrais les ascensions...
News — October 31, 2018
What my father taught me...
Written by Bertrand Piccard
Most children grow up hearing their parents tell them fairy tales. In my case, it was rather stories about exploration. I was captivated and listened to my father’s accounts of the conquest of the poles, Mount Everest, space and the oceans’ depths. I discovered the stratospheric ascents of my grandfather...
News — October 31, 2018
Was mein Vater mir beigebracht hat...
Written by Bertrand Piccard
Die meisten Kinder wachsen mit Märchen- und Fantasiegeschichten auf. Ich habe vor allem Geschichten voller Abenteuer und Entdeckungen gehört. Ich war fasziniert von den Erzählungen meines Vaters über die Eroberung der Pole, des Mount Everest, des Weltalls und der Tiefen der Meere. Ich entdeckte, wie mein...
News — August 22, 2018
Travels in the Land of Common Sense
Written by Bertrand Piccard
We may still think it’s acceptable to produce cold air for air conditioners with electricity from oil-fired generators; to grow crops using chemical fertilizers; and to spray them all with pesticides. But not on the island of Tetiaroa in French Polynesia. Spurred on by Marlon Brando's dream of building an...
News — August 22, 2018
Voyage au pays du bon sens
Written by Bertrand Piccard
On trouve toujours normal d’avoir de l’air conditionné en fabriquant du froid, de l’électricité provenant d’un générateur au fioul, des cultures avec des engrais chimiques et des pesticides pour arroser le tout. Mais pas sur l’île de Tetiaroa en Polynésie française. Issue du rêve de Marlon Brando de construire...
News — January 17, 2018
Regulators please be brave
Written by Bertrand Piccard
Why are we so demanding for the latest smartphone and yet so laid back for all the new technologies that have to do with energy. Today we have technologies that can make an airplane fly day and night without fuel, but also technologies to electrify transport, to properly insulate houses, to massively reduce...