Speech on the Ocean
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Year 2016

(Click on the white bubbles to access the speeches of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco)

January 22, 2016

– DavosSwitzerland

World Economic Forum Oceans session

But more broadly, the future of the oceans depends on all those whose actions and choices, have indirectly an impact on the climate, on biodiversity, on pollution and on the exploitation of natural marine resources which now need to be protected. It is thanks to their mobilization, to the mobilization of you all, that we can hope for the emergence of new solutions.
January 22, 2016
April 4, 2016

– São Paulo, Brazil

Monaco Blue Initiative

This renewal is near. It merely requires us to have the courage, the openness and the freedom to let it come. As Bossuet wrote “a defect that prevents men from acting is not sensing what they are capable of”. Let us therefore trust our ability, that of scientists, environmental players, political and business leaders, and let us mobilize them through dialogue, experimentation and will!
April 4, 2016
22 April 2016

– Madrid, Spain

The Mediterranean in 2050, sustainability, biodiversity and resource management

The Mediterranean, in reality, is more than a sea. It is a vast region that connects Europe and Africa, that mixes the East and the West. They are lands, coasts, islands, rivers and mountains. It is a particularly dense and dynamic population area. It is a zone of permanent exchanges, for millennia. It is also, at times, the setting for very serious crises and tragedies such as those we are currently experiencing. The Mediterranean is a summary of our world.
22 April 2016
June 8, 2016

– Domaine du Rayol, France

“The role of marine and coastal ecosystems in climate regulation (World Oceans Day)

A few more degrees, a few less species, a few more square kilometers of desert, are for many irreversible tragedies, bringing their share of tragedies, exile, misery and violence. At the heart of these climate and environmental issues, we finally understand the central role of the oceans. These vast expanses, which for a long time seemed to man to be intangible, hostile and devoid of life, are now revealing, thanks to the work of science, their complexity, their fragility and their importance.
June 8, 2016
June 11, 2016

– Elba, Italy

Conference on the governance of maritime waters

We need to get away from the idea that the seas belong to no one: they are our common property on which we all depend, for which we are all responsible! I know that international negotiations, even if they are successful, will not be enough to address such extensive issues. We also need to take action at our own level, with our own means.
June 11, 2016
16 June 2016

– Sophia-Antipolis, France

The science of marine protected areas in the Mediterranean

Through a strange twist of history, I have the impression today that the ocean once more outlines the limits to the development of our world, and that it will, at the same time, enable us to come up with new models which will shape the world of tomorrow: a more responsible and sustainable world, as demonstrated by marine protected areas. I hope, therefore, that your work will allow us to make progress in this direction, and to make our peace with Oceanus.
16 June 2016
September 4, 2016

– Hawaii, USA

High-level dialogue on ocean conservation – “Turning promises into action

From the Pacific Ocean, where we find ourselves today, to the shores of the Mediterranean, millions of people are now being mobilized by the same momentum. They are all calling for our seas and our planet to be saved. Perhaps never before in the history of humanity has an idea asserted itself so quickly and so universally.
September 4, 2016
12 September 2016

– Kiel, Germany

CIESM

A general trust in science is another marker of your nation. We can certainly count on Germany to keep up the fight against global warming!
12 September 2016
27 September 2016

– Monaco

Arrival of London (Blue Marine Foundation)

Because in order to combat the dangers hanging over the marine environment, the involvement of each and every one of us is essential. That is why we need to mobilize opinion as widely as possible, to alert our contemporaries and to convince the undecided…
27 September 2016
12 November 2016

– Marrakech, Morocco

Oceans Day, Mediterranean segment COP22

Since the world is now ready to be concerned about the seas, to invent a new way of living with them, it is our duty to propose concrete, useful and effective solutions, which alone will make it possible to preserve them, and thus preserve their indispensable capacity to mitigate climate change.
12 November 2016
November 14, 2016

– Marrakech, Morocco

Because the Ocean Meeting

It needs to be borne in mind and have attention drawn to constantly: the oceans are a universal cause. Their future is vital for humankind as a whole, and not only for coastal countries.
November 14, 2016
7 December 2016

– London, England

Conference on Polar Regions, House of Commons Parliamentary Committee

The Poles continue to mirror our profound truths and, at heart, our destiny as human beings. This is I believe what my great-great grandfather Prince Albert I meant when he wrote in his memoirs, on his return from Spitsbergen: “Never had I experienced sailing with such emotion, never had I probed so deeply into human nature.
7 December 2016
13 December 2016

– Quebec, Canada

Arctic Circle Forum

The Arctic is a global issue. Its future is vital for all humanity, for present and future generations. This is why it must be the object of a global collective work, built in the search for the general interest, peace and environmental protection. In this respect, I believe that we could imagine an original international text specific to the Arctic.
13 December 2016

Year 2017

(Click on the white bubbles to access the Prince’s speech)

January 24, 2017

– Düsseldorf, Germany

Boot 2017 Ocean Symposium

That is why I was eager to join you today, to raise this much needed awareness with you. To remind you that solutions do exist and that they can be extremely worthwhile sources of progress, development and growth for your industry.
January 24, 2017
April 2, 2017

– Monaco

Monaco Blue Initiative

Between the law of the High Seas and the exploitation of coastal areas, between the exploration of the seabed and the development of marine energies, between aquaculture and the limitation of plastic pollution, there are multiple issues but one single vision. It is this vision we need to bear in mind when we work together on these topics; a local and global, a concrete and universal one.
April 2, 2017
April 4, 2017

– Monaco

Launch of the Arctic Marine World Heritage IUCN/NRDC/UNESCO

It provides us a framework for action, even though we have limited time. We are now aware of the dangers threatening the Arctic but we also have the means of mitigating or countering them. Action needs to be taken now and the Arctic Marine World Heritage initiative provides us both with the opportunity and resources.
April 4, 2017
6 June 2017

– New York, USA

Speech on the Sustainable Development Goals for the Ocean N°14

At a time when the international community is looking at the oceans and setting out the essential principle of collective responsibility for them, I cannot help but think of the phrase attributed to Aristotle, with which we are all familiar: “there are three kinds of men: the dead, the living, and those who go to sea”. This sentence sums up the situation of our seas, which for too long have seemed to escape the common laws of humanity. For centuries, the seas have escaped our knowledge.
6 June 2017
6 June 2017

– New York, USA

Ocean’s 8 celebration

“The ocean” can be compared to “the climate” a few decades ago: We don’t know much about it, we don’t see much of it and and we assumed, until recently, that its vastness was a source of limitless resources.
6 June 2017
June 14, 2017

– Montreal, Canada

New responsibilities for a new world

For thousands of years, we have believed Nature to be infinite, indestructible, and Man to be vulnerable. We believed that our ultimate goal was to protect Man from the dangers of Nature, and that this authorized everything. We now know that, conversely, it is Nature that must be protected from the dangers caused by Man. This is why the change we must make also concerns our values, our representations of the world, our convictions, and the idea we have of ourselves. This is a moral change.
June 14, 2017
27 July 2017

– Monaco

World aquarium against marine litter

This is why it is essential to utilize awareness-raising efforts on such a major issue, like the initiative bringing us together today. This campaign, through the mobilization of the 72 aquaria, and in particular thanks to the action of the aquarium of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, will make its voice heard far and wide, within Europe and beyond. Your commitment is essential. That is the reason why I wanted to let you know my support, and that of all those who are concerned about the future of our seas.
27 July 2017
5 October 2017

– Malta

Launch of the “Coral Reefs Life Declaration

This is how we can effectively fight the various illnesses that today affect coral reefs and create shared momentum around them, supported by scientists, politicians and economic players. This dynamic is today within our reach. I am delighted that we can make this happen to help us end the spiral of destruction in which coral reefs are both sentinels and victims, a spiral of destruction that threatens all seas and oceans.
5 October 2017
5 October 2017

– Malta

Our Ocean Conference

The action you are taking is indeed a model of awareness and effectiveness whose pertinence and necessity have been stressed in your address. It spurs us into taking action alongside you, into realizing the urgency and into doing everything in our power to prevent irreparable harm. In that respect, I think your words here will be listened to, because, as La Rochefoucauld wrote “nothing is more contagious than example”. I am convinced that, again today, you will have contaminated us with much good will.
5 October 2017
October 6, 2017

– Malta

Our Ocean Conference

It is in this way, once again, through will, dialogue and innovation, and by mobilizing more, that we will give MPAs the means to develop. This is an essential task for our seas. I am therefore particularly pleased that Our Ocean has taken up this issue, and that it is doing so here in Malta, on the shores of this sea.
October 6, 2017
October 8, 2017

– Prague, Czech Republic

Changing International Order and the Future of Our Planet

The corollary is, of course, a greater appreciation of the world’s misfortunes, a new awareness of dangers, which we didn’t see before. But isn’t this global awareness, shared by NGOs, states and international organizations, preferable to the blindness of those who would remain behind their borders, ignorant of what is going on elsewhere and what they might leave to their children?
October 8, 2017
13 October 2017

– Monaco

Connecting and protecting our seas

In this respect, they represent a unique opportunity, not only technological but also in terms of the global economy. An opportunity to invent a new, more intelligent model, which consumes less energy and is more sustainable. This is our key objective, because it is one that will allow us to reconcile humanity and the sea.
13 October 2017
17 October 2017

– Monaco

Workshop on the economic impact of the acidification of the oceans

The economic approach is, I believe, the best way to bring about rapid change, to raise awareness of the urgency, to develop innovation, to bring positive responses and especially to prove that environmental questions are not a luxury but an absolute necessity. We therefore need you more than ever. We need your understanding, particularly at a local level, of what is happening. We need your vision and assessment of economic consequences and your solutions to counter them.
17 October 2017
November 21, 2017

– Marseille, France

Mediterranean of the future – A common commitment to climate agreements

Let us remember what the great American biologist Rachel Carson, who was among the first to draw the world’s attention to the dangers facing the seas, wrote: “It is strange to think that life has arisen from the sea, and that the sea is now threatened by one of the forms of that life. But the sea, even if it is drawn into a disastrous development, will continue to exist; the threat is rather to life itself.” Through the sea we must save ourselves.
November 21, 2017
12 December 2017

– Paris, France

One Planet Summit

To save our planet, to ensure its future and that of our children, we must establish a new mode of development, capable of reconciling the ambitions of mankind, their need for prosperity, health, mobility, and the fundamental requirements of nature.
12 December 2017