The Oceanographic Museum is recruiting for seasonal and temporary positions to cover the summer and school holiday periods, giving interested people the chance to learn the inner workings of this important Monaco institution.
Photo by Cassandra Tanti for Monaco Life
Photo source: Monaco Pavilion
An event that looked at the geopolitical and economic consequences of the Ukrainian conflict was also able to raise a total of €3,000 in donations to go towards helping those in need from the war-torn nation.
Photos provided
The Compagnie des Autobus de Monaco (CAM) lined up their new 100% electric buses in front of Prince Albert and the Palace on Monday as they prepare to take the fleet to the streets of the Principality.
Monaco Life, like Prince Albert II, had the opportunity to take a ride on the new bus, as invited members of the press were whisked around Monaco Ville before returning to the Palace. What is immediately noticeable is the noise, or lack thereof. The bus is completely silent, whilst the comfort and larger interior will provide passengers a much more comfortable travelling experience.
Roland de Rechniewski, Director of CAM, told reporters, “We are offering a better service to those that are going to work and we are increasing the internal capacity, as the new buses will have 60 seats rather than the 50 on the old buses.”
Celine Caron-Dagioni, Minister of Public Works, the Environment and Urban Development, revealed the routes that will benefit from this new, eco-friendly bus. “For now, the buses will serve route three (Fontvielle – Hector Otto), whilst the buses will also run on route five (Hospital – Larvotto) from the Autumn.” Caron-Dagioni added that the buses will begin their service on route three from the beginning of April.
In order to reach this point, an arduous process has had to be overcome. Due to the topography of Monaco, and the limited charging hours, it was difficult to find a model of bus that could fulfil the requirements.
“In terms of battery capacity, it is three times the size of the biggest Tesla battery. It is very important in terms of the quantity of energy to charge. It has to be done in a relatively short amount of time, because the bus finishes the service the night before and has to be ready for the next day,” said de Rechniewski.
This model of bus, having passed the requisite tests, will now roam the streets of the Principality for the next 15 years. In that time, a great deal of change will occur in Monaco’s public transport system.
“We target having the entirety of the fleet electric by 2025 for all buses currently circulating, and then we have about 20 buses in reserve, which will have hybrid technology, that will be in transition until 2030, at the maximum. So, it is really two phases, 2025 and 2030,” revealed Caron-Dagioni.
Although the speed of technological advancement is unrelenting, de Rechniewski believes that some things should remain the same. Notably, he is a staunch believer that the role of the driver should remain un-automated. “We have to consider that part of the magic of Monaco is the welcome. For me, the bus driver is, above all, an ambassador and I think we can’t deprive ourselves of this contact.”
He continued, “It’s our image, and I confess that I demand keeping our drivers, because the people that come here need to be accompanied, to be guided.”
It is therefore a tale of continuity and change on the streets of Monaco, as the ecological revolution happening within the Principality’s borders gives rise to a new fleet of green vehicles.
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Photo of Prince Albert with National Council President Stéphane Valéri and other members of government
France will be the first European Union nation to stop air travel to destinations that can be reached by a 2.4-hour train journey in an effort to lessen the country’s carbon footprint and encourage citizens to travel by train.
Before the days of mass air travel, people in Europe took trains to visit destinations near and far. This romantic way of travel fell out of fashion with the advent of cheap airfares, and as train travel fell, carbon emissions from airplanes went up.
To try and reverse that trend, the French are becoming the first country in the European Union (EU) to stop short haul flights less than 2.4 hours long, replacing them with high-speed TGV train options. This goes into effect in April.
In April 2021, the French parliament voted to suspend short domestic flights, arguing that the French high-speed train system is well-suited for travellers for shorter distances and is less impactful on the environment.
Air France has also raised the gauntlet, becoming the first airline to introduce additional biofuel tariffs in January 2022. Other carriers are aiming to follow suit.
Flights from Paris to Nice, which take roughly six hours by train, will continue to operate, as will those from Paris to Toulouse, which takes four hours by train.
“It’s possible that we have the discussion [at an EU level], but so far, we have a national approach, given the national railway network,” French Minister of Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari noted last November.
France has 2,800 kilometres of railways connecting international destinations such as London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt, though flights to these places are still an option.
Other countries are making strides toward more eco-friendly practices. Sweden is launching a “take-off fee” for older aircraft and Germany has doubled the tax on short-haul flights. Additionally, the EU has announced plans to double its high-speed rail line by 2030.
Photo by Cassandra Tanti, Monaco Life
Monaco has played a significant role in the creation of a new global treaty aimed at protecting marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, passing on its knowledge of how to establish marine protected areas (MPAs) in the fourth and final meeting.
The 4th session of the Intergovernmental Conference responsible for drawing up a new International Convention on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity in the High Seas was held in New York.
The Permanent Mission of the Principality of Monaco to the UN took part, presenting “concrete proposals in the various debates, particularly around the process of creating protected marine areas on the high seas,” said the government in a statement on Monday. “These proposals were largely taken into account during the exchanges aimed at achieving common positions between small island states of the Pacific, groups of African states, from Latin America, the Caribbean Community, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Norway, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.”
In 2017, the United Nations General Assembly decided to convene an Intergovernmental Conference to consider the recommendations of the Preparatory Committee established by a 2015 resolution on the elements and to elaborate the text of an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea, detailing the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, with a view to developing the instrument as soon as possible.
The first session was convened from 4th to 17th September 2018, the second session from 25th March to 5th April 2019, and the third session from 19th to 30th August 2019. The fourth session, which was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, was convened from 7th to 18th March 2022.
Monaco said it is committed to continuing the process until “the conclusion of the negotiations”.
Photo by Anastasia Taioglou on Unsplash
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