Speech on the Ocean
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Year 2012

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6 March 2012

– Milan, Italy

Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution: results and challenges

Indeed, if it is essential for all action to be taken in the interest of peoples, we must also work with these populations by convincing them and associating them with these actions. It is not a matter of opposing their development. It is simply one of supervising and orienting it to make it compatible with environmental constraints. By working in partnership with populations, we can preserve the part of their heritage we know to be essential, for their future as for that of all of us.
6 March 2012
27 March 2012

– Lapland, Finland

Monaco Arctic Seminar

But I would like to remind you that the Arctic issue goes beyond the simple climatic and geophysical issues to which it is too often reduced. The future of the Arctic cannot be limited to polar bears, glaciers and hydrocarbon reserves. If the Arctic is important, it is also and above all for the people who live there, who are now also threatened, along with their environment.
27 March 2012
23 April – 27 April 2012

– Monaco

XVIII International Hydrographic Conference

It is well known that the state of the oceans continues to deteriorate and that the areas most affected are the coastal areas. The Mediterranean, on whose shores we stand, is very vulnerable, made more fragile by climate change. More than a coastal State, Monaco is, by historical and cultural tradition, a State turned towards the sea. It is therefore quite natural that I have placed the protection of the seas and oceans at the heart of the Principality’s foreign policy, and my Government is working daily in this direction.
23 April – 27 April 2012
21 September 2012

– Nunavut, Canada

Nunavut Arctic College

These issues are crucial for the preservation of our planet and therefore for the preservation of humanity. For the defence of the environment is only worthwhile if it is concerned with people, if it integrates their aspirations and responds to their needs. This is a truth that should never be forgotten when fighting for the environment, especially in areas with small and vulnerable populations.
21 September 2012
24 September 2012

– New York, USA

Opening of the Climate week

To all these innovative players, to all these ambitious entrepreneurs who are now betting on the preservation of the environment, we must offer frameworks that allow for stable and serene development.
24 September 2012
26 September 2012

– Monterey, California

Symposium on the Ocean in a High CO2 World

The fight against ocean acidification must become a major cause for mobilization tomorrow. That is how we will be able to combat this phenomenon in a comprehensive way. As Wangari Maathai, an admirable woman and Nobel Peace Prize winner who was an active member of the Board of Directors of my Foundation and who sadly passed away recently, said, “You cannot protect the environment unless you empower people, you inform them, and you help them understand that these resources are their own, that they must protect them.
26 September 2012
3 October 2012

– Brussels, Belgium

Arctic Futures Symposium

It is therefore our responsibility, as we are still relatively unscathed, to inform and make understand that the reality of these not so distant people is also ours, that the changes in their environment have or will soon have a direct impact on us too. The same effects of the phenomena occurring there will be felt here shortly. It is urgent to act. Urgent for them, for us and for the balance of our planet which is becoming increasingly fragile.
3 October 2012
9 October 2012

– Monaco

Law of the Sea: 30 years after Montego Bay, economic opportunities and environmental challenges

We must work together, strengthening our mutual capacities to take concrete action to implement our obligations and commitments. The multidimensional nature of the challenges facing the oceans and seas requires coordination at international, regional and local levels. It forces us to consider a new partnership that is inclusive and transparent, respectful of the needs of the most vulnerable.
9 October 2012
7 November 2012

– Istanbul, Turkey

Climate Conference – Bogazici University

All of this, I have seen myself. I have clearly seen the dangers. And I have seen that, across the globe, climate change is already a reality for those making the effort to observe. Across the globe, natural mechanisms are changing whilst tensions and pain increase, signs of our passivity in the face of a tragedy of which we sometimes feel we are the helpless onlookers. Yet it is not too late.
7 November 2012

Year 2013

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24 January 2013

– Davos, Switzerland

Marine Reserve Dinner

At a time when we are all wondering about our ability to act to save our environment, and especially our marine environment, representing over seventy percent of the Earth’s surface, it is essential that we adopt an efficient approach that will enable us to move forward. The development of marine protected areas is currently among the measures that show the most promise.
24 January 2013
25 January 2013

– Davos, Switzerland

Bolstering Oceans Resilience: how are new models bolstering ocean resilience and strengthening coastal economies?

It is essential to act, using all the means we have available. These means are certainly not perfect, but they are many and have already led to several worthwhile initiatives. As Martin Luther King said, “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
25 January 2013
February 2013

UNEP Arctic Council side event

Such initiatives require bold multilateral cooperation. Not only by the countries situated in the Arctic directly involved. But also by every country in the world, because each one, at varying levels, is dependent on the future of this region responsible for its preservation and contributes to its changes.
February 2013
22 May 2013

– Brussels, Belgium

Conference of the Parties to the Antarctic Treaty

The preservation of Antarctica is a challenge for humanity. It is therefore essential to mobilize our contemporaries. Leaders and ordinary citizens alike must be aware that our future is at stake in these remote and hostile areas.
22 May 2013
24 June 2013

– Monaco

Monaco Blue Initiative – Closing

This is like a synopsis of the world; a world in which progress can only be made if everyone agrees to transcend their own interests, to break away from their individual habits, to look beyond the people around them and their time. We can only advance if we can see what unites us, beyond our differences – and if I may say so, beyond the seas…
24 June 2013
23 September 2013

– New York, USA

Ocean Elders Dinner

The challenges that currently concern the oceans affect the life of every inhabitant on Earth. We must convince each individual to be involved in order for us all to be able to act, invent new ways of living, in sustainable harmony with the oceans. Therefore we need more than ever to approach our contemporaries, speak to them and alert them. We need to understand their difficulties but also make them understand the even greater difficulties that our oceans will face.
23 September 2013
September 25, 2013

– New York, USA

“What future for the Arctic?” Talk at the Explorers Club

If we abandon the Arctic, then we abandon all hope of preserving our biodiversity and our environment. But if we safeguard the Arctic, I have no doubt that this will herald a new commitment: to ensure the future of the Earth.
September 25, 2013
December 4, 2013

– Monaco

Ocean Acidification International Reference User Group

Awareness, action and anticipation: these are the obligations of our century. Difficult obligations, for which everyone’s efforts will be necessary, and yours in particular. As Seneca said twenty centuries ago on the shores of our Mediterranean Sea: “It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.
December 4, 2013