Translator: RAGOU GOVARDANANE Reviewer: Elisabeth Buffard
Hello everyone.
Bonjour à tous.
So we have here a credit card.
Made of plastic.
It is equivalent to the 5 grams of plastic we ingest every week.
Imagine what this will lead to in an entire life.
But where does this plastic come from?
It comes from products made of recycled plastic
or from the plastic that is consumed or produced every day.
When we connect
all the weather-related disasters that occurred this summer:
wildfires in Turkey, in Greece or in the south of France,
unprecedented floodings in Belgique, in China, in New York,
heat wave in Canada...
we can’t help feeling we are watching an apocalypse blockbuster.
But unfortunately, this is not a movie.
This is indeed the sad reality that is now impossible to ignore.
The latest report of the IPCC confirms again the worst predictions
but the good news is that it is not too late yet.
We can still rethink our actions,
stop being in denial, move away from apathy,
and consternation.
We can still prevent these gloomy predictions.
Human beings are capable of so much, even of the impossible.
Numerous problems lead to climate change.
We all know it.
But there is one, very simple problem
which each of us, in this room,
can do something about right from tomorrow,
right now:
plastic pollution.
You could say “But what has climate change got to do
with plastic pollution”?
Well, it is very simple.
The millions of debris found in the environment
which make landscapes look ugly,
break into tiny fragments of less than 5 millimetres
under the Sun’s ultraviolet rays and through oxydation.
We call them microplastics.
A very interesting study, published in the United States in August 2018,
showed for the very first time
that when plastic waste breaks down,
they release greenhouse gases.
Which concretely means that plastic pollution inexorably contributes
to global warming.
You see, it is simple, and it is important to understand it.
It is important to acknowledge it, because, today, oceans alone contain
a whopping 80% of the planet’s plastic waste.
Just imagine the amount of greenhouse gases this can lead to.
Researchers have conducted tests on all types of products,
like, for example, bottles, bags, wrappings, industrial products.
And they have concluded that polyethylene is the most prolific producer
of greenhouse gases.
Polyethylene, also called PE, is one of the most widely used
plastic materials across the globe.
It is used to manufacture moulded objects, mostly use-and-throw.
We particularly use it for water bottles.
The good news is that, if we take bold measures now
to reduce plastic pollution along with our demand in plastic,
we will reduce our carbon footprint,
as well as the carbon footprint
of greenhouse gases released by this plastic waste.
Plastic pollution has today become
one of the worst scourges of our time.
The UN is saying it, not me.
But let us get back for a moment to the fundamental aspect.
What is plastic really?
This is a fantastic material, invented by mankind to last.
To last for a very long time, much longer than any of us.
It can be anything you want it to be.
Strong, heat-resistant, or even soft and malleable when heated.
Many people think
it is one of the most extraordinary inventions of mankind.
As a result, we are putting it into use in all industries,
in all the products around us,
and we keep producing it in unimaginable quantities.
Plastic is now omnipresent in our lives.
You find it just everywhere.
We live in a time where we touch more plastic
than people we love.
Plastic never disappears, even when it breaks down.
Man becomes dust, but plastic does not.
It changes into tiny particles
and remains in the atmosphere for centuries,
in the ocean, in the soil.
Some say we are in the digital era.
I say we are in the plastic era.
The future generations that will study our time
will find plastic fossils, which they will exhibit
in archeological museums to illustrate our era.
A bit sad, is it not?
By the way, we have already found some of these plastic fossils.
They were discovered by Charles Moore, by chance, in 2006, this new stone,
made of plastic, along with natural elements.
He and his colleagues have named them “plastiglomerates”.
We have been discovering them in millions since then.
And this is only the beginning.
From 15 million tons in 1960,
the production of plastic has shot exponentially
to reach something around 300 million tons today,
40% of which is exclusively meant for packaging.
Some figures now.
We are told we have reached 367 million tons
of plastic in 2020 against 368 million tons in 2019,
and that such a decrease in the production of this material
has not been seen since 1973.
However, we unfortunately do not owe this decrease
to a global awareness within the industry.
We owe it to the coronavirus pandemic and to the ensuing lockdown.
This is the third decrease at a global level since WW2.
So, we had the first one in 1973, at the time of the first oil shock.
Then the second one in 2008, during the subprime crisis.
And now in 2020, with the coronavirus crisis.
And all this is saying something very simple:
it is certainly possible to reduce this production.
It is possible to reduce our demand of plastic,
and, therefore, reduce the waste that ends up in the environment.
And that’s a good thing, because it is urgent to do it...now.
The buildup of waste in the environment and in the oceans
is happening at an unprecedented scale.
No need to go to the other end of the world
to realize it.
If we do not take concrete steps now, not in 2030, not in 2040, but now,
plastic pollution will suffocate oceans, and mankind along with them.
Simply put, our blue planet is all wrapped in plastic.
A bit like the Arc de triomphe these days.
This is not the responsibility of one country or another.
This problem, it is our own, of all of us, everywhere in this world,
irrespective of our colour, gender, beliefs,
tastes or differences.
Because it’s life on Earth that is under threat.
We now know that plastic pollution
is in fact a question of air pollution.
So, even though scientists are not aware
of all the diseases this health disaster is going to lead to,
we now know.
Yes, we know that this does lead to asthma,
cancer and infertility.
And I believe you will agree with me:
no need for us to know any further.
We do not need to wait for more research to confirm all this
all over again, to start taking steps.
You have certainly heard about plastic recycling.
You have certainly been told that recycled plastic is THE solution
to fix this problem.
You might even be convinced about it.
Initially, I believed in it, like you did.
I found it amazing.
However, it is entirely false.
Plastic is not infinitely recyclable, unlike glass, aluminium or paper.
The worst part of it is that it creates microplastics
or nanoplastics, throughout its lifecycle.
These notorious microplastics we breathe, we eat, come from these products
made of plastic or recycled plastic we keep producing,
we keep using over and over and over.
We have simply become addicted to plastic.
And it is particularly the case for my generation as well as yours.
We are not letting go of certain things made of plastic
because we reminisce through them.
They are linked to family traditions.
They were with us all through our childhood.
We have a dependency on certain things made of plastic.
Like, for instance, birthday balloons,
Halloween costumes, Barbie dolls,
Marvel figurines, Lego, Christmas trees, synthetic ones of course,
frisbees, scoubidous, the Rubik’s cube, footballs,
all these plastic things, it is difficult to do away with them.
So we go on and on, we transmit this addiction to our kids.
The loop has to stop with you.
The idea is not to remove all this, but to rethink it.
It is high time we gave a rethink about our traditions, parties, entertainments
for a life free of plastic.
Our focus must remain the essential point:
our role in the ecosystem.
Our role is not to rule over nature, or to believe we are above it.
We are much more knowledgeable than our ancestors.
We have much easier access to knowledge.
We can put this intelligence into use for creating a world
in harmony with nature, for helping to regenerate itself,
to fix errors of the past.
During the first lockdown, I read numerous articles
from all over the world, on how the Earth was finally breathing,
that we now had clean air, that, for the first time in 30 years,
people in India were finally able to see peaks of the Himalayas.
Some even said they had never seen such a thing
in their life.
Personally, all this good news made me sad.
I wondered “But how did we come to
locking people at home
for nature to finally be able to breathe and live again?”
It is as if we humans were intruders in this ecosystem,
intruders on this planet.
However, we are not intruders.
We are very much part of the living beings on this planet.
We were born here, we belong here.
We simply forgot we are part of a whole,
we are connected to nature, we are one with the planet.
Without oceans, life is not sustainable.
There is no oxygen without oceans.
Without this blue planet, it will be really difficult to live on this planet.
People often ask me: “What are the concrete steps we can take
against plastic pollution?”
The only solution is, first and foremost, to prevent future plastic pollution.
And for that, one needs to get awareness.
Being aware is first understanding that introducing plastic again in our lives,
in our children’s hands for another cycle,
is not the solution.
That’s simply not the way we will stop polluting.
Being aware is learning and understanding where plastic can hide,
On the one hand, we have obvious objects
those we all know of course,
like water bottles,
plastic bags, straws...
On the other hand, you have what is called hidden plastic,
but that is nonetheless present in our lives:
chewing-gum, glitter, lipsticks, sunscreen
tea bags, tyres, the sheet wrapping the Arc de triomphe.
I can go on like this for a whole day.
We need to give a rethink to our style of consumption.
And it is not complicated.
The solutions, the alternatives, they are all already here.
And these are not products that are more constraining, less efficient,
less appealing aesthetically or less fashionable.
How many brands are already offering products that are
desirable and plastic-free?
Well, let me tell you: lots of them.
And more and more start doing so.
I know it is difficult to imagine a life without plastic,
but that is now a real necessity.
I dream of a world where I will go shopping
and I will not have to check whether a product contains plastics or not.
Because by then, brands and industrialists would have
banned plastics from our shelves.
We need to end this urge to find a way
to give another life to plastic waste.
Why do we keep thinking that is the only solution?
In order to get into action, we need to collect all the plastic
while it is still possible.
I repeat: while it is still possible.
Because if we delay collecting plastic, it is going to break up
into pieces invisible to the naked eye.
You can’t see them, but that doesn’t mean they’re not there.
Instead of taking this recycled plastic into another cycle of nuisance,
we should invest, set up structures and eradicate it
or recover energy from it.
But we need to stop using it in more objects, more products, clothes
that will all unmistakably become plastic waste.
When you move to professional life, with a position in companies,
in the government, or as a young entrepreneur,
keep it in mind and share the awareness.
Instead of investing billions in recycling plastic,
we should invest them in innovations,
solutions already available and waiting to be put into use,
massively, through industrial processes, to fight against plastic pollution.
In 2018, a team of researchers discovered an enzyme,
a bacteria capable of breaking down significant amounts of plastic
in a record time, and completely naturally.
In 2019, a young 18-year old Irishman found a way
to use NASA’s magnetic liquid for removing
the harmful microplastics from water. Can you see now?
There is a lot of hope in innovation.
Let us stop believing that there is no other way,
right at the outset.
Solutions, we already have them.
You have got it now: recycling plastic
is not really the solution.
Circular economy is meaningful only if it is a virtuous circle.
If not so, the only way it takes is the one given by economy.
Today, you, the new generation,
you all have the future in your hands.
And these are not just words.
We are at an unprecedent turning point in mankind’s history.
And you have the opportunity to place nature at the centre
of all future innovations
I am certain that, in this very room, each of you has the ability
to change this world.
Every generation sees itself as smarter than the previous one,
and wiser than the next one.
But the truth is, every generation tends to forget
that nature is full of surprises and full of intelligence.
It is only by becoming eco-conscious beings,
who incorporate nature’s intelligence, that you will gain in knowledge,
and be able to change the world for the better.
Every innovation must be scrutinized for the butterfly effect it has
on the planet and our ecosystem.
Because if we destroy our planet’s resources,
we will create a world where it will be increasingly difficult to live.
Your generation has the power to do so,
to change the way we consume, the way we travel, the way we enjoy life.
So many things that look normal today
are not so anymore and will be even less so in future.
We need to learn to unlearn.
It so happened that evolution made us
the most intelligent being on this planet.
I believe there is a reason for that.
Let us use human ingenuity to change the world
and not to destroy it.
Some of you will probably say, “that’s impossible”.
I know. I am going to tell you where I find
this will to believe in you, to move ahead every day.
It is an event that left a mark on me when I was a child.
I come from a Hungarian family, exiled in France, political refugees
who had to flee their country overnight
because of the communist regime.
I was brought up with the idea that the wall of Berlin would never fall.
Everyone thought so back then.
Then came the night of November 9th, 1989, and that night, the wall fell.
That’s an event that shook up the world,
And this event has been for me a concrete reminder
that everything is always possible,
even when it seems impossible and the entire world believes so.
I would like to end with a quote by Mohammed Ali,
whom I am particularly fond of.
“Impossible is just an excuse, thrown around by those who find it easier
to live in the world they’ve been given
than to explore the power they have to change it.
Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion.
Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a challenge.”
Meet it.
Thank you.
(appplause)