Abu Dhabi: The successful completion of the first round-the-world trip on a solar plane has empowered him to take the next step for clean environment to fight climate change, said Bertrand Piccard, one of the pilots of Solar Impulse-2 that celebrated its globally acclaimed mission in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
“When this flight ends [successfully] … this gives me much more power of argument and credibility also to take my mission of promoting clean technologies [forward],” he told Gulf News in an interview.
The next step is the creation of an international committee for clean technologies — ‘World Council for Clean Technologies’, Piccard said.
This is the way to put together all the actors in clean technology sector — businesses, international organisations, foundations and start-ups — because such a set-up does not exist.
“There are international committees for many other sectors but not for clean technologies. We already have 400 associations who are members of the ‘Future Is Clean initiative’ that I launched two years ago. They will be the core members of the council. Four hundred members to begin with is an important development,” Piccard explained.
He said he would work with Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) and Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company.
“What Masdar is doing is incredible. Now they are investing in renewable energy projects abroad. My colleague André Borschberg flew over the Gemasolar solar thermal power plant in Spain during his flight from Spain to Egypt.” Masdar is a partner in Gemasolar, a 20-megawatt clean energy plant that runs on renewable energy 24 hours a day.
The round-the-world flight on a zero-fuel electric and solar aeroplane was to promote clean technologies and renewable energy. “We want to advise governments on how to be more ambitious in their [renewable] energy policies.”
When he was flying over the Pacific [from Hawaii to San Francisco] on Earth Day [April 22, 2016] he spoke live on satellite phone with Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, who was signing the Paris Agreement on climate change. He also spoke to the UN General Assembly for ten minutes.
“For me that was the highlight of this year … that I was dreaming to do with Soar Impulse. [Because] this credibility [helped] to address the governments about the need to go for the clean energy [deployment],” Piccard said.
After the successful end of the global flight, he said, he felt nostalgic. “There is a bit of nostalgia. This adventure was beautiful … beautiful sceneries [during the flights]. When I made the first flight time ever … [that gave me] beautiful memories. Now it is finished. But it gives the possibility to do many things (in the) future,” he said.
