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Day: 29 April 2022

Prince to co-convene Blue Climate Summit

by: Stephanie Horsman
29/04/2022

Prince Albert II will play co-sponsor at the Blue Climate Summit in French Polynesia this month, an event aimed at accelerating ocean-related solutions to climate change.

When it comes to enacting positive change for the environment, Prince Albert II is second to none in commitment. His latest endeavour involves the first ever Blue Climate Summit, initiated by the Blue Climate Initiative, running from 14th to 20th May.

This global event aims to advance ocean-leveraging solutions to combat climate change. The summit will be structured around six missions that serve to channel actions, collaborations and commitments, and include climate change mitigation, ocean protection, CO2 removal, healthy blue communities, sustainable tourism, and improved ocean understanding.

Galvanizing task forces, launching major announcements, presenting impact investment opportunities, and providing Pacific Islanders an international forum to spearhead action on ocean and climate issues will be another focus of the event.

In addition to the Prince, more than 200 scientists, innovators, policymakers, business and financial experts, community leaders, and environmental and youth activists will come together to work on ocean and climate strategies during the week.

During the summit, French Polynesian President Edouard Fritch will present $1 million to BCI’s Ocean Innovation Prize winners.

The final day will see a public Ocean Aid Concert on the waterfront, bringing together international and local artists to raise public awareness and inspire action.

The event will be a “climate-positive, net-zero event” where all participants will do what they can to offset emissions, shooting for the least impact possible, with $200,000 being invested directly into projects that offset at least 1,800 tonnes of CO2, estimated to be more than twice the Summit’s total footprint for the week.

 

 

 

Next-gen Formula E car revealed in Monaco

by: Luke Entwistle
29/04/2022

The next generation of Formula E racer, the Gen3, was unveiled to the public at the Monaco Yacht Club on Thursday. Designed specifically for street racing, it will make its debut next year.

At the cutting edge of technological advancements, Formula E’s new model, which will be put into action from season nine onwards, once again pushes the boundaries of what is possible for electric race cars. High-performing, efficient and sustainable, the car is the embodiment of the idea that these aren’t mutually exclusive elements and can in fact co-exist.

The car was developed by experts within Formula E and the FIA, and boasts a whole host of impressive performance features including a top speed of over 200 mph, making it the fastest Formula E car yet. More than 40% energy is produced by regenerative braking, making it the most efficient Formula E car, while 95% efficiency is achieved from an electric motor delivering up to 350kW of power.

In addition, natural materials and recycled fibres have been incorporated into the tyres, batteries and bodywork construction with considerations about life cycles central to their thinking. The Gen3 batteries will also be the most sustainable and advanced batteries ever made, whilst the minerals for the batteries will be sustainably-sourced. It will also be possible to reuse and recycle them at the end of their life.

At the launch, Jamie Reigle, Chief Executive Officer of Formula E reflected on the importance of unveiling the new generation of racer in the Principality. “Monaco is the spiritual home of motorsport and there is nowhere more fitting to unveil our Gen3 car,” he began. “The Gen3 disrupts and challenges the conventions of motorsport, setting the benchmark for performance, efficiency and sustainability without compromise.”

Monaco-based ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Team Principal Jerome D’Ambrosio also referenced the beautiful aesthetics of the Gen3. “Visually, the car looks extremely futuristic, but the most exciting aspect is beneath the bodywork. This car is more powerful and lighter than anything we have raced in the past, but it’s also the most technologically advanced electric racing car in the world.”

“I’m very excited to see what this new generation of racing holds,” D’Ambrosio concluded. 2023 will herald a new era for electric motorsport racing, as Formula E once again positions itself at the forefront of technological advancement.

 

 

 

ASM match preview: “My players are ready for the final sprint”

by: Luke Entwistle
29/04/2022

Having fought back into a Champions League-contending position, Philippe Clement was insistent in Friday’s press conference that any pressure on his players isn’t manifesting itself in a negative way.

As the season ticks down to its eventual denouement in just three weeks time, AS Monaco in their recent streak, their best since January 2021, have won six “finals”, just four remain to earn that much-coveted podium position.

A final usually entails a level of emotional exhaustion from which it is so often difficult to recover. Yet that has not come to pass. Benoit Badiashile told reporters before Sunday’s game against Angers that the calm, collected Clement has a lot to do with that. “The coach is always calm, optimistic and positive, and that’s what we need because our group is quite young.”

It is a combination of man elements that have given rise to this certain run, but the role of Clement on a man-management level mustn’t be underestimated, and the Belgian told Monaco Life that he believes his side are ready for the last four finals, starting with Angers at the Stade Louis II on Sunday.

“I think my players are ready for the final sprint. Before, we looked too much at the table, but now we only concentrate on ourselves, on what we can control, match after match.”

Coming from Belgium, whose domestic division entails an annual play-off, Clement’s managerial experience with Club Brugge is also complementary to a team that has had to treat every game with an added importance since mid-march.

Sunday will be no different, and Angers come in with a solid recent away record, having drawn their last two and only narrowly losing out against Marseille. But they arrive into a Stade Louis II fortress, where Monaco have only lost one of their last 19 games in all competitions.

To keep that streak going, Clement can count on an almost fully fit squad. Monaco Life attended group training at La Turbie on Friday and can confirm that, following illness, Ruben Aguilar is back training with the group and fit to face Angers. The same cannot be said for Gelson Martins nor Cesc Fabregas. The former may not play again for Monaco this season having sustained what Clement described as a “blow” during last Saturday’s N2 fixture against Aubagne FC.

Meanwhile, Aurelien Tchouameni, Axel Disasi and Vanderson are suspended, meaning that there will be an element of rotation in the squad, but as Clement has said previously, everyone is “involved” in preparation for moments like these. Everyone will have to play their part in the chase to reach that podium; only goal difference and four “finals” stand in their way.

 

Photo by Luke Entwistle, Monaco Life

 

 

 

Four new Ambassadors welcomed to Monaco

by: Stephanie Horsman
29/04/2022

Monaco has welcomed four new Ambassadors, hailing from Timor-Leste, the Philippines, Norway and Bulgaria.  

A lunch reception was held on 26th April to receive the four newest diplomats to arrive in the Principality. Isabelle Berro-Amadeï, Minister for External Relations and Cooperation, greeted them at the Hermitage Hotel, where they met after presenting their letters of credence to Prince Albert II that morning.

The Ambassadors come from Timor-Leste, the Philippines, Norway and Bulgaria and are all well-qualified for their postings.

Maria de Lurdes Bessa began her career in diplomacy in 2001 at the Embassy of Timor-Leste in Portugal and then in the United States where she was until 2012. She is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Timor-Leste in Switzerland as well as Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva.

Junever M. Mahilum-West joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by serving as Deputy Secretary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Affairs Office. She was then appointed Director General of the ASEAN-Philippines Secretariat. She is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Philippines to France, Jordan and Palestine.

In 2002, Niels Engelschion joined the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to become, in 2015, Deputy Director-General then Director General of the Department of European Affairs and Commence International. He then served as Norwegian Ambassador to Belgium from 2011 to 2015, and he has been Norwegian Ambassador to France since 2021.

Graduating with a Doctorate in International Relations, Nikolay Milkov held various positions within the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence starting in 1992. In 2001, he entered the world of diplomacy and became Ambassador of Bulgaria to Romania, then to Canada, in 2013. Since 2021, he has been Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to France, Permanent Representative to UNESCO and Personal Representative of the Head of State to the OIF.

 

 

Photo by Manuel Vitale, Government Communication Department