Prince Albert II Foundation: Monaco's Green Revolution

We can also play a role in the international negotiations alongside the government of the planet and alongside the governments on the planet. Prince Albert was extremely, extremely involved in defining SDG-14, so the sustainable development was entirely dedicated to the ocean. Welcome to the special English edition of De Gorsa Neustadt, a German podcast series by Zabilla Bar, in which she talks to pioneering leaders who, inspired by the World Economic Forum's Great Reset Initiative, create revolutionary projects that actually do make our world smarter, greener and fairer. Today I have the privilege of welcoming Olivier Vendon, Vice President and CEO of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. Monaco, the most densely populated sovereign state in the world, smaller than New York Central Park, has emerged as a powerful advocate for ocean and marine life conservation. Prince Albert as head of state and president of the foundation played a significant role in shaping SDG-14, the United Nations Sustainability Development Goal, entirely dedicated to the ocean. He also spearheaded a campaign to ban global fishing over the endangered Atlantic bluefin tuna. And when the world turned a blind eye, he went local. The Foundation's commitment to environmental stewardship is showcased through 750 projects focusing on biodiversity, climate, the ocean and water resources. In my conversation with Olivier Vendon, we explore the remarkable but underreported impact of Monaco's what he calls collaborative activism and delve into the celebration of its first green-shift festival. Olivier, thanks for joining us. It's day two of the festival. How is it going? Well, thank you very much indeed for the invitation and thank you for asking. The festival is on the second day. I must say it's premier. It's the first edition, but great turnout, great success so far. Probably because we managed to bring together people that usually don't talk to each other. You know, this world is working a bit too often in silos. And also when addressing the issues of climate change and biodiversity loss or environmental challenges or threats, we tend to be very gloomy and all about the figures, the data, the wall that we might face if we don't act. And it's pretty rare that we have an open conversation bringing together scientists, writers, talents, singers, songwriters, philosophers all together to bring optimism and a message of hope, not a naive one, but just to dream together of the future we want. So that's probably the key of success of that first green-shift festival based here in Monaco. The idea for the Green-Shift Festival was born how? Well, the genesis of the foundation is back to 2006. So we have already 17 years of track record. But that being said, we have to face one big thing. Science is key to understand how the world works, where we are heading to if we don't act. That's clear. But the message has always been very gloomy. It's been decades that we were hearing, well, if we don't act now, the world would not be sustainable for our children and grandchildren. The problem is this message didn't work. It didn't change. We didn't steer the wheel. We were thinking, well, that's not great. What can we do? What is missing? Why governments, companies, customers, even our own households and individual level, why can't we make this change happen? We are all rational individuals. So we can understand the problem. If we want to find the information, we can find it. It's everywhere. The IPCC reports very regularly give, all give you a very clear overview of the challenges, the problems, but also the solutions. There's a roadmap of solutions to be implemented to solve the problem. Yet, it didn't work. So what are we missing? And that's how the idea of the festival is born. There's three conversations, and I would tell you with philosophers and activists, French activists back at the end of last year, we were thinking, well, maybe, and it's a very strong maybe, maybe it's to be able to dream of the world we want. And that really resonated. And I remember my time, you know, graduating from uni. I'm dreaming, and I think I'm not the only one. I was dreaming of my professional life. I was dreaming of my family life. How I wanted to achieve that goals. And then you find your own way to achieve your target. When it comes to environment and the ecological transition, so clean mobility, stopping the greenhouse gas emissions, killing the plastic pollution, we always see the tragic consequences and the data and the pollution level of increasing and the killing of the bioproposal. But we never talk about the success. And I think it means to dream about the success. We need to dream of the world we want before being able to find the right solutions and take the right action. So it's probably not the only lack, but it's clearly something linked to the emotions and maybe stopping for a while about being in our heads, changing the software and thinking more with the heart than with the brain at some point. We need to feel more. We need to be rooted again. And that's probably what we have been losing over the past two, three decades with, of course, the increase of technology and the screens and access to information. It feels that and again, from the conversation with the scientists and psychologists, well, it seems to be a fact, a very serious fact that we are embarked into a perpetual movement of information that freezes from feeling. We don't really feeling anymore as human beings. We always need to be occupied, you know, having a screen or reading something, but just wandering around thinking, reflecting, this is, this is no longer the case on a general average basis. And that's the purpose of the festival is to think with the heart less with the head. I absolutely agree with you. We need to think more was a heart and less was a brain. And that we are also in desperate need of some positivity, good examples that show us the ways to the transformation. And that was certainly my motivation when I set up this platform in 2020. And since then, there were many, many global leaders that I talked to who all say exactly the same. We need to have more positivity, encouraging examples. And perhaps we could talk about your approach, which is quite special. You said in an interview, we think, and I quote you, we think of ourselves and the global community as collaborative activists. Well, absolutely. The thing is, and this interview was just made after COVID, because we had time, like many of us around the globe, we had time to think, and that was great to start with, because we need to bend it. Well, we thought that it would be very, very good to take advantage of this forced pause to redefine on a positive way, what could be the world after COVID, the post COVID world. We truly believed and we launched a green shift campaign at that time on the web. It's still visible on our website with many, many interviews of a very holistic cohort of close friends of the Foundation from Nico Rosberg to Paul Pauldman to Team Flannery from Australia, et cetera, et cetera. And of course, around Prince Albert, but it was their vision for the post COVID world. And there was a lot of optimism at that time because, you know, marine life was back on the coast. There was no activity, so the air pollution completely dropped, et cetera, et cetera. So of course, we were not naive and we didn't fall for a world without human activities. This is impossible. We took advantage of the no flights in the air, but that was not sustainable. We stopped the production. That's not sustainable. So it was impossible to continue living like that. However, we were able to reflect on the future we wanted. What's your personal motivation to run the Foundation? I would say that first and foremost, as CEO, so I have a great, great team fully dedicated. We were talking about, you know, the committed generation. I have every day the feeling that I'm working with this kind of generation. We are doers. So as the Foundation, because it's unique, because it's the only NGO in the world that is chaired by a running head of state, we have concrete example on the ground in terms of conservation, saving species, implementing technology or innovative ways. But we also have an important role, a leading role when it comes to lobbying, raising awareness, launching campaigns to raise awareness amongst the heads of states, heads of government, economic leaders or other NGOs on very specific issues, challenges being challenges or opportunities, actually. So this is extremely rewarding in terms of impact. So my motivation is all about impact. And as I said earlier on, we can, even on our level, because we are, I would say, let's face it, we are a small foundation compared to other international organizations. But we can find our own way and we can have significant impact using traditional philanthropies. So we found projects on the ground defining political campaigns at the international level to try to curb international regulation when needed. And it's very often needed, I have to say. And also to favor, to promote, to channel the stakeholders into the raising opportunities, I would say, from technology, blue finance, blue economy and technology. Because you mentioned that before that you must be the only foundation in the world that has an acting head of state as president. So how do we imagine your work process there? And for anybody who listens and doesn't know, it's Prince Albert II, who is actually the president of your foundation. So how do we imagine the work process? Are there more advantages than disadvantages? To be honest with you, there are only advantages. Only advantages in the way that... And I will repeat myself, but first and foremost, we are a philanthropy working for the Prince of Monaco. So with the meetings that His Highness has with the trips that he has on the ground or meeting other heads of state or in the multilateral arena, like the UN, he's got the opportunity to identify partners, stakeholders, challenges, problems on the ground. He discusses a lot with local communities. He's got a very strong focus on local communities and the role that human beings can play in solving their own issues. So that's a fantastic way to have a global view of the challenges and being able to support with our own means, of course, which are important, but not outstanding, I would say, given the level of impact. But we can benefit these communities with very concrete support on research grounds as well to make a change at a local level. Then we can also play a role in the international negotiations alongside the government of Monaco and alongside the governments on the planet. Prince Albert was extremely, extremely involved in defining SDG-14. So the Sustainable Development Goals entirely dedicated to the ocean. That was that obvious at the time of the definition of the Sustainable Development Goals. So he was not the only one, but he played a pivotal role in defining SDG-14. So having the ocean being part of the discussions. Then he was one of the head of state to really make sure that the ocean was part of the Paris Agreement as well. Remember COP 15, the climate, yet the ocean were not that obviously include. And yes, now they are in the preamble of this historical agreement. We played a key role in the high seas as well. He found the high seas treaty. Prince Albert was extremely pivotal in enabling the creation of the Ross Sea, which as you probably know is today the largest marine protected areas in in. So that's to give you also an example of what we can do on top of traditional philanthropy. And I would say the level is probably the liberty that we have to test ideas like the Green Shift Festival, but also to federate very broadly, breaking the silos of corporations and federating all these stakeholders around very specific matters. And I come back to this example of Monaco Ocean Week. The Monaco Ocean Week is one week of event in Monaco, so roughly 60 different events hosted with a thousand people. And in each event, you bring together scientists, CEOs, decision makers, so mayors, ministers to discuss about the various, various issues linked to the ocean conservation. And this is not the only place on the planet where we discuss in a holistic way, but it's a very active role that we play in bringing together these different forces to bring the best solutions possible. Once again, to scale up and accelerate the implementation of the solutions that do exist, that do exist for the ocean, for the biodiversity and climate. But it's bringing together, as you all know, that we can succeed. And it's good to say it, but it's even better to do it. Your ideas and your work certainly have a huge impact. Bringing all the relevant stakeholders of society to the table is of course key to any sustainable success. And your 750 projects and initiatives that the Foundation has realized since 2006 are definitely proof that you do right. So Olivier, but I have to ask you that. How come your work for the oceans and biodiversity is so underreported? That's a key question. But I would say it comes back to an insight just made. We are doers. His Highness is in favor of impact. He's looking for doing things for his foundation to achieve its goals. We are not seeking recognition. But I must say, in a certain way, and that's the dedication of my team at the communication level, we are trying to spread the word about what we say. It's hard. It's true, but the motivation is really what we achieve on the ground. So the facts are shared with you and we're working on it. I can guarantee you and I'm sure beautiful podcast. We've probably helped raise awareness of the great achievements and successes that the Prince of Monaco has been experiencing throughout his reign. Yeah. Yeah. Olivier, let's delve into a few projects and initiatives that are close to your heart. Can you choose two or three, which you want to go into more detail? Well, thank you for asking. So there is one massive success link to our traditional philanthropy approach is the Bluefin tuna. So in the meds, we save the species. That's thanks to the role that Prince Albert played. And the fact that he's ahead of state because the Bluefin tuna had only two years of left of existence in the meds. When in 2009, scientists came to to alarm his finest about the situation. So two years left of stock and then it was over. Game over for one species, one emblematic species. Yeah. So Prince Albert asked. And that time that the bluefin tuna was listed on the red list of the IUCN, which would have meant no fishing, no trading. That was a hard one to take. And we lost it certain. Well, one specific country, which I will not mention, but you will find it. So one country, love it very strongly to make sure that this didn't happen because as you could guess, the price of a ton of bluefin tuna was extremely high. It's roughly the price of a Ferrari car to give you an example. So the market is super, super important. So we lost the case yet being Prince Albert, the media attention was caught. And the quotas had to be raised by the European Union. And we had to work a lot to raise awareness of the fishermen community. It was hot. It was very hot at the beginning because they didn't understand why we wanted to kill their source of the main source of income. However, it was a long journey. So it took more than a year to be successful in making them understand that there was the very short term, but there was also the long term vision. And they understood and they understood. And a very important decision that was taken not by law, but the restaurants themselves, they removed the species from them. Just because they're of this awareness. Yeah. And that was brilliant. And to make a long story short, within five years, I mean, with the quotas being raised, more monitoring and more awareness with the communities, the species has been saved. We can start fishing it again now under various conditions, but it was saved. So that's the best proof ever that if you lightly regulate and limit the human impact on the ecosystems, nature blossom again. Yeah, that's a really great story. It's a very positive story. So that was the beginning of a great determination and the foundation to do things right and have more impact. So that was my example for traditional philanthropy. And I insist on that because we understood as well already in 2016. So after 10 years of existence, that philanthropy will never be enough. It's it's crucial, but it's never been enough to solve the complex problems of the environment. So 2016, his highness gave us the blessing to launch our own projects. So we call them the foundation. So projects are operated by third parties and we fund them. Whereas initiatives are a concept born at the foundation and a concept for which we look for operating partners and financial partners. At the moment, we are running 13. So one three initiative around the globe, mainly focusing on ocean matters. Even though, even though this year we are developing and this is a very important theme, an initiative called forests and communities. So a global initiative, totally focusing on the voice and the right of indigenous communities and local communities. You were asking me if I had three, three point then I do. So local communities, I would say, Lufthansa and maybe two more, if you allow me to my third one will be innovation and the private sector to save the ocean. So I've already mentioned you the platform that we have designed for the ocean innovators to bring together the CEOs and founders of companies that have a positive impact on the marine ecosystems, yes, making profits and creating jobs. And in peril, we have developed the Rio Ocean Fund, which is a fund that will ultimately invest in the companies that we have sourced to have these kind of triple win on jobs, profits and environments. And the last initiative I would like to stress is our significant efforts on making sure a new generation of talents can emerge. So we have just launched the regeneration program. It's targeting the under 35, but again, in a holistic way. So we're looking for under 35 that have already achieved something significant having success when it comes to sustainability or environmental conservation. We source globally these talents from science to artists, including sportsmen, businessmen, finance guys and politicians. We will offer them a campus like a summer camp in Monaco two weeks in July with leadership skills and communication skills program led by Insead and the University of Edinburgh. And and then we also have the great pleasure of having VIP masterclasses with the great the chess Paul Pullman will give a masterclass on courageous leadership. His harness will be the Godfather of the of the first cohorts. We also have the pleasure of partnering with wet Hennessy and having a one day on the ground site visits with the 11 members of this first course. So they will go to discover a new vineyard that the Hennessy has developed in the bar in France, which is now truly sustainable. So we have a masterclass on biodiversity, but also in the afternoon with city of show us the of what Hennessy about the luxury industry facing sustainability challenges. So I'll get will also give a masterclass. He's the founder of Formula E, so the electric championship about mobility, etc. Etc. And after camp, all the members of the cohort will benefit from a 12 month tailor made program in public relation that will come with us to COP to Davos and to other international events that the foundation organises, all co-organise, but not to repeat the silos that we know. So we won't have this side event about the young generation. No, we will take members of our cohort and they will represent us. They will be part of the senior level panels that we are hosting a person. So the entire objective of regeneration is to go the extra mile to leverage the emerging talents to make sure they will create a strong, solid community of talents in the years to come around Prince Albert, of course, but also to make sure that we can definitely break these silos and achieve greater impacts faster, stronger. And breaking the silos is, I think, one of the major points. And this cohort you've got already the cohort or can people still apply? No, the first cohort is now clearly defined. It will be announced and revealed on July the second, the first day of the campus. People can still apply to join the community. So working with a network of partners, of course, to source globally, but feel free to contact me if you feel you have the profile and join like to join the international community of people. When it comes to selecting amongst the community, the talents that will join campus, there's a stricter selection process that starts in January. So feel free to contact us. I think that's a great, great opportunity. The other two projects I saw, which I really liked and would like to know more about it, is one is called the Mediterranean Fresh Water Ecosystem. Right. Can you just talk a little bit about that? Absolutely. You know, and even in France and Monaco, the moon, we have a very dry winter. So the problem, or the challenge of freshwater is growing. Fresh water is growing in many parts of the world, but also in the Med region. And we decided, to be honest with you, it was extremely hard in the first years of the foundation to identify solid projects that would tackle freshwater issues. But the difficulty was also linked to our own mission statement. We are a foundation focusing on environment. And usually when we received great projects, usually they were very human, netarian, they were tackling, you know, urgent needs. So bringing, we're building pipes in schools, hospitals and villages. And yes, there was the access to freshwater, but it was not clearly centered on environmental conservation. So we we struggled a bit to find a lot of projects in that category. We had very great successes, though, in Latin America and in the Amazonia, in particular, working with photographer Sebastián Salgado. And that's one of our flagship program because it was working with the local communities to train them to restore freshwater ecosystems, like marshes and forest. So there was also the fight against deforestation links to the sustainable access to freshwater. That worked pretty well. And with experience and time, it was back in 2020, we have identified with our historic partners like Mava and the AG, Jensen Foundation, and NEED in the Med, and in particular in the Balkan region, to address this challenge of access to sustainable freshwater and to make sure we can also restore these freshwater ecosystems as a doorstep and not going off where the where the situation is extremely worrying. And it was not not enough address in the past. And usually these ecosystems are along the coastline or by the river. So it really makes a good complementary connection between Bayardavaciti on land, Bayardavaciti at sea and the efforts that historically the Foundation has made in favor of the Med and the ocean. So it was a good way also to come back to the land and once again, fulfilling one of our mission statement to keep human beings at the core of all the projects we tackle. So that's the trash ecosystem. Because you talk in ecosystems here, did you work with or do you work in this particular project together with your neighbors, Italy and France, or just with donors and your own money? Just with donors. Usually, and I would say the majority of the time, the Foundation works with private partners, always operating the project with the entities that work very closely with the local official authorities. But the Foundation very rarely has developed projects or initiatives directly connected with states. The good example or on the contrary, I could give you the Med Fund. So the Mediterranean Fund for Marine Protected Areas, which was born in Monaco and the Foundation played an instrumental role in making it happen. But it's a fund that has been launched by Monaco, France and Tunisia. So it's totally backed by states in that case. The other programs, no, they're more with the private entities and NGOs. And you, Mayor, asked this question, is work with donors alone, does it have a different impact than working with states? Clearly, we need to work at all levels. It's not the same thing with states. You have to work so it's a larger scale to start with. It's more a question of regulation and laws and enforcing or defining new frameworks. And NGOs is fundamental when you want to address the local level and regional level. So we need both. And we don't use, we don't need to choose. And we certainly want to continue working with all the stakeholders and including the private sector. We need the finance, we need the companies, we need the industries to change, adapt and invest in that field. Did you see from 2020 on with COVID a stronger drive for alliance building in the world? Like, let's say you have a project. Is it easier for you to bring stakeholders to the table, like United Nations and, let's say, a big company? Or do you think that the government is going to be able to do that? Did it have no impact? So that's a very interesting and bold question, I would say. By intuition, I would say that no, COVID has more of a negative impact on all topics linked to environment. And I will explain myself there. There was definitely definitely a tenure set back when coming to, for instance, plastic pollution with COVID. We went back big time and globally to single use plastic everywhere. Everything was wrapped in plastic and it was disposable and you couldn't reuse it. So that was a massive, massive step back on that specific matter. And that being said, and it would add also to that fact that the very tragic war in Ukraine that had to force European countries, at least, to reflect on energy questions. So that can be a good outcome. But the main, main, main achievements that have to be really noticed because they were not that so expected were at the political level with a high C-streaty and the Kunming Agreement for defining the biodiversity framework. So the 30 by 30 that was pretty unexpected. And now we are in the process of discussing a plastic treaty as well. The two first ones, the highest C-streaty and the 30 by 30. In each case, we're talking about decades of negotiations, decade. And we finally seem to be there to reach this political agreement, which is not the end of the road. It's only the beginning because then you need to implement it. But at least there was a move, which was not that obvious to reach. So, no, I think COVID had a very significant step back on various, on the various aspects. You saw that the public funding did go in other directions, which was very important as well, you know, health and security and avoiding the environmental funding. People felt more concerned about other, all the very sound topics, obviously, and inflation now. But however, on the other aspects, there was no quite interesting success to underline. Okay, to the project number two, which I found it called Pelago or Pelagos. I don't know. Yes. Can you talk about that? Pelagos is a fantastic example of transboundary marine protected areas. So Pelagos is a marine sanctuary in France, Monaco and Italy. It's the largest area protected in the Med. You would maybe remember the Aishi targets, which used to set a target of 10% of marine protected areas by 20. Obviously, we didn't reach that. And in the Med, we are barely around 8% now of marine protected areas. But amongst with 1.67% is the Pelagos century. So this was the large area. And again, transboundary. This is very important to underline because it's so rare at the international level. And it's working fine. So everybody even in Monaco is extremely surprised that taking your boat, going out to sea and making a 45 minutes journey at sea, you would meet. And from June to October, it's the case. A lot of sea mammals, dolphins, whales. There are also turtles, manta rays as well. So the diversity of species is highly important, significant. There are two main harbors of the Med, also in that perimeter, Marseille and Genova, in Italy. So there is all the questions about shipping regulation and the speed of boats and the pollution. So it's a very good lab that can benefit a lot of other MPAs around the world. And it decided that the foundation that and it comes back to what you just said in the previous questions, but as it's transboundary, it's a century that is run by a consensus between the three states that share the waters of this Pelagos century. But the foundation decided to support, help and accelerate the cooperation of the civil society within the Pelagos century by launching specific calls of action. And thanks to the fantastic partnership we have established with UBS and UBS Foundation for the Optimus Foundation, we have been able to launch a partnership of one million euros specific program to identify projects in the Pelagos century that will also have an impact on climates. I will give you a very quick example there because it's going very popular now. All the studies about the importance of the whale, for instance, in the regulation of climate. And we have a very important community of whales in the Pelagos century. So you see, we can also, by conserving these species, have tangible and measurable impacts on the climate and the reduction of CO2 emissions, for instance. But Olivier, I have to ask you that there are many calls of actions in the world all the time. A lot of them die of old age. How do you made it happen? My answer is very clear. So every year now we have a call for projects. So NGOs between France, Italy and Monaco can submit a project in the region that can be favorable and have an impact. And then we ask thanks to the governing bodies of the foundation and the help of our financial partners when it comes to that specific initiative. In our governing bodies, we have well-established international scientists and experts that can help us decide which projects could have the most impact. So once again, it gets your point like calls are not enough. Calls for action never really work. So that's why we have a very strong focus on our region, which is our own adult step, the meds. The med is the most believed sea. We have a problem of overfishing, of pollutions. We need to develop more marine protected areas. And obviously for geographical and historical reasons, Monaco and the coalition, we have quite good networks in the region. So that's where we want to test, try innovation, try to lead by the example and have a greater impact to them. Work with sister NGOs, I would say, or entities to duplicate and replicate what works in the med for in other seas, for instance. So instead of having calls, we want to be rather smaller, more specific to measure the success, but and also be totally transparent on the failure and the mistakes that could have been made. Yeah, I'm glad that it works that way. If we look at the current situation here in Monaco, Monaco and the whole Riviera, there is a lot of talk about water and droughts and how to use the water resources properly. And I heard the other day in the radio that your government has implemented the water management plan and activated an alert system. So that aimed at guaranteeing the rational use of water resources. What does it mean for the citizens? So I'm very happy to comment that decision, even though and I should state that very transparently, it's not linked to the foundation activities. This is clearly the state of Monaco and the government of Monaco decision. But first and foremost, it's an important step forward to make sure we are aligned with the neighboring cities of the French cities that are around Monaco. Water is coming from the Alps. So we all share the same sources when it comes to water resources. So that was one good thing to make sure we all have the same system of alert and procedure in when drought will ultimately come. So that was the regulation framework that was important to mention. Secondly, what is going on at the moment with the alert? So it's just a very strict warning about the fact that the level of the risk of resources is very low. Let's face it. And we're not. We are already not in summer, so it might be worsening in the coming weeks and month. So we have to be extremely careful with the use of water when it comes to washing your car, washing the pavement and prevention is central in that case. So to make sure you can collect water when it's there and develop containers would be central, not only Monaco, but also in the humid, many, a lot of cities that were not used to having or to being exposed to such long period of droughts. And the projections of experts are quite alarming for the decade to come. So we have to be ready. We have to go with the thing you can say that in English. So variety, so to make use it very carefully. It's like it's the blue gold. Be very careful and a lot of common sense should be used there. Do we really need to wash our car with every week with a drinkable water? That's clearly questionable. And then we are also promoting the debate around the grey water to make sure that this grey water is not wasted, but can be easily reused for non-drinkable activities like, as we said, cleaning, washing cars, boats, pavements, roads and gardening. What may I ask? What is grey water? That waste water? Yeah, the water from your shower for instance. OK, OK, OK. Just one more additional question, because I find it very interesting. You are such a small country with some short of 40,000 residents. And yet you're so sorry. 40,000. Oh, OK. 40. 40. And you're the most densely populated sovereign state in the world. So we don't have to mention the level of wealth, but we need to mention how in that small space, limited space of land, how do you manage water and energy and the land? So the land, that's the key question for Monaco, because it's small. It's smaller than the Central Park. It's larger than the UK. So, yes, let's face it, it's super dense urbanism. We didn't have the choice to accommodate the development in terms of demography, population, economic growth. We had to have a lot of town planning in the city, in the state city of Monaco. So, yes, it is an urban space. Prince Rainier III, so the father of Prince Albert II, had defined a framework in construction that 40% of the construction has to be green. So what happened was a lot of our roots are actually... And we have also beautiful gardens in town, like the majority of our neighboring cities. So that's one thing. The second thing is in construction, Prince Albert has implemented the highest standards of environmental... Sorry, the highest environmental standards in the construction are implemented in new construction everywhere, to make sure we have energy efficiency, which is essential for all the cities now. We can cut very easily, at least by 30%, our emissions, if we have better isolation, windows, roofs. So this is exactly what has been implemented for decades in Monaco with new construction. We are also adamant, and again, we can address that question as well about the Sea of Reclamation Project, or Maritera, so an extension over the sea, which has been designed, thought for almost 10 years before it was built, to make sure that it would limit as much as possible the impact on the marine ecosystems. And all the materials that have been sourced, and the design of the extension, will be able to enhance the biodiversity when it's over. I'll give you a quick example of the company that has been testing very positively its technologies called E-concrete. It's an Israeli company that we use in Monaco, so they build concrete, but environmental friendly concrete, that pattern helps the biodiversity grow on the wall that you can build under sea. But also the concrete has a neutral pH level, which limits the impact on the marine ecosystem when it's immersed underwater, to have walls underwater to protect your coast. And the water, well first of all, and before the alert, it has been the case for many years in Monaco, the water that is used to water the gardens and clean the streets is grey water, and it's also recycled water. So we know our resource plus we are blessed to have the arts behind us and brings lead to molecules. I have to mention that because I read probably kind of 10 years ago about the extension of the land into the sea, and I wrote a novel where I put it all in and it up, you were getting praised and awarded for the whole thing because it's eco-friendly, but I all made it up, so I'm glad that you're saying it's eco-friendly. Thank you. It will be finished by next year and I will invite you to come and visit and see by yourselves. Yes, happily. Thank you. But Olivier, before you go back now to your day two of the Green Festival, we have to talk about the Arctic, because the Arctic plays a special role in the foundation's work and from what I understood, it was the tipping point for Prince Albert. Actually, so it was not the May or unique reason, but yes, Prince Albert visited the two poles. He went to the North Pole, he went to the South Pole on expeditions and now he's the only head of state to have experienced the reality of the polar regions, the only head of state still now. So it is true because the polar regions are fantastic laboratories of what is happening at the global level, but every way and every time faster. So the ice melt goes faster, the loss of biodiversity goes faster, sea level rise goes faster. So you can very easily study what will happen on the rest of the world in these regions. Very pristine regions as well, but far and away and we always thought, I think in the public opinion that they would remain pristine forever because we don't see them because we don't know them because in our collective imagination, it will never change and it's full of icebergs, waves, orcas, etc. It's clearly not the case. I'm afraid and that's why in 2022 we launched our polar initiatives and we had an intuition that even the scientists from the Arctic and the Antarctic regions didn't have the chance to often discuss, exchange, converse about the challenges and opportunities that they had and we were right. So we offered them, it was the first time ever that the scientists from the two polar regions would gather all together on a two-cosium in Monaco. So that was the launch of the initiative. I would say that the motivation was clearly and easily put in a motto, what is happening in the poles or the polar regions doesn't stay in the pole. And it's true that what is going on in the Arctic or the Antarctic regions is affecting on a daily basis our forests, our deserts, our coastlines. To put it simple, our daily life depends on these two important regions. So what did we do? First, listen to the science and only science. So it was a two-day symposium reserved closed doors to scientists to make a sum of knowledge and a state of the art. Second, we want to support new talents. So we support grants with SCAR and IASC, which are the two leading organizations with the polar regions. To support PhD studies from students from the least developed countries to make sure they will also have the possibility to work on these topics. Third, we've launched campaigns such as we supported a campaign against heavy fuel in the Arctic, which is a success by 2024. Heavy fuel will be banned from the Arctic. And then we continue as a traditional philanthropy to support projects on the ground and mainly and namely with local communities in the Arctic region. Wow, that's really fantastic that I didn't know. That's really good, really good. Which also then connects it better because I saw Prince Albert in Davos introducing the president of the Zami, the indigenous people of the Arctic region. And I wondered what is the connection with the foundation or with him and indigenous groups? Well, the connection is central. As I said, when Prince Albert launched the foundation, he made it clear that all the projects that we would support, launch or create would always have to be centered around human beings. And obviously, when he meant that, he meant the local communities because they are the one, especially in these regions, that are suffering the most from the impact of climate change. But they are also the one that have this traditional ancestral knowledge that should be wisely listened to because they know how to be more resilient. And we're talking about the lands as well. So that's why we felt the urgency to help them leverage their voice and their rights. Well, it was... Final question. Final question. Okay. Okay. Final question. What's next for the foundation and what do you need most at the moment? We need to convince more people to go faster and to accelerate the change. Hence, the Green Ship Festival to make sure that we can dream of the world we want to have in the next decades and give our children. So first of all, the dream. So we need holistic discussion with scientists, artists, businessmen. Then we need to channel the right investments. So to convince the companies, industries and the states to invest wisely into the renewables, into ways, technologies and innovations to change the way we produce, we consume and we travel. This is compulsory. And then we have to accompany new talents because they're the upcoming leaders that always have to keep in mind in every decision they will make sustainability. It has to be key. We have to reconcile ecology and economy. We can't talk about ecology if it's not linked to the real world and the economics. So to really have these decision makers understand that we can't talk about the GDP and the production if you don't include the environment, the natural resources. If there's no water, there's no forest, if there's no natural resources, there will be no economy bottom line. So we have to also make sure that at every level in the real world or the economic world, you have these notions of sustainability that is deeply rooted. That's why we focus a lot on the emergence of new talents. Wonderful. On this happy note, I mean, I could talk to you for another hour at least. And I have a million ideas. Anyway, so I'm really grateful that you were talking to me and to us and we have listeners in 77 countries and hopefully they all now say, wow, Monaco is the place to be and they do something for the planet. Great. Olivier, thank you very much and good luck now today with your Green Shift Festival. Thank you so much, Bill, and see you soon in Monaco. Thank you. Thank you. .