Solar Impulse Promotes Clean Tech Solutions To Solve Climate Change

Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg founders and pilots of Solar Impulse will be actively engaged in the COP21 Climate Conference which will take place in Paris, France to highlight the fact that investing in solutions, for energy efficiency and renewable energies is profitable for investors and consumers in both developed and emerging markets.

In the lead-up to the COP21 event, Piccard has published a manifesto of seven principlesto highlight that solving climate change does not have to be an expensive exercise, requiring financial and behavioral sacrifices, but rather a unique opportunity for creating both profit and jobs (watch the video here).

Bertrand Piccard, Initiator, Chairman and pilot of Solar Impulse states: “People don’t want to hear about expensive problems; they need to be inspired by solutions, which have immediate economic returns. The CO2 emissions of today are caused by technologies which are 100 years old. If we were to replace these old polluting systems by new clean technologies that exist already today, we could divide by two the energy consumption of the world and therefore, too, the CO2 emissions. This is where we need to implement legal frameworks.”

Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg will participate in a number of high-level events such as: Official opening of COP21/CMP11 Leaders Event  at Le Bourget (30^th Nov);Solutions COP21 at the Grand Palais (4 Dec) ; RE-energising the Future, High level event (6^th Dec); Sustainable Innovation Forum organized by UNEP at the Stade de France (07-08 December), where Piccard will join Dr Ernest Moniz, Secretary of Energy, USA, for the welcome address on Energy and Low Carbon Innovation (8^th); Gala event for the UNEP Goodwill Ambassadors Environment for Development (7^th).

André Borschberg, Co-founder, CEO and Pilot of Solar Impulse comments:” Solar Impulse is a tangible example of the power of clean technologies. Among our records, we have accomplished a non-stop five days five nights flight, with no fuel. To be able to realize this historic first using solar energy, we had to significantly reduce our energy consumption and be extremely efficient.  All the clean technologies which have been integrated in the airplane can be adopted in our daily lives. We need governments to create a favorable environment so these technologies are widely used in order to reduce CO2 emissions”.

In an effort to provide a platform where the public can support and provide input into the COP 21 process, Solar Impulse has launched the Future is Clean initiative, which has mobilized more than 300 supporting associations – among them business leaders, international organizations and academia – urging governments to replace old, polluting techniques with new, cleaner solutions, which are more efficient.

Since the beginning of November 2015, members of the public have actively engaged in voting for their top solution. The top 5 with the most votes will be presented by Solar Impulse throughout the duration of COP21. Which solution would you pick? Members of the public can still add their vote, as the voting closes online on 4^th December.

Personalities such as Prince Albert II of Monaco, Kofi Annan, Richard Branson, Mikhail Gorbachev, Christiana Figueres and Yann Arthus Bertrand have associated their names with the #FUTUREISCLEAN message.