SIR ROBERT SWAN Leading the way for change
However, after making a promise to legendary explorer Jacques Cousteau that he would remove all traces of refusal, Swan refused to give up hope and leaving behind 3 members of his team in Antarctica for another year, he returned in 1987 with a ship to remove all traces of his expedition and the rest of his team.
“In a world often dominated by things being complicated, I think sometimes we make them complicated but it’s a complex world and I think on this day, it wasn’t the best day I’ve had, but if you make a promise you should keep it. I’m proud to say that our team pulled together and three of them stayed behind and spent another year in Antarctica.”
While he admits his motivation for deciding to go is that ‘it went down well with girls’, once he got there, he says something changed him,“The conditions were so bad. What we saw 25 years ago, was wrong. Rich, powerful nations with their scientific operations in Antarctica just putting their garbage into the ocean so we in our own small way, we tried to make a change.”
In a bid to raise awareness on environmental issues, especially amongst the youth, 3 years after reaching the South Pole, Swan assembled a team of eight people from seven nations for an attempt at the North Pole. They produced a series of educational films there and facilitated the removal of rubbish from the surrounding Arctic wilderness. They reached the North Pole on 14th May 1989.They nearly drowned during their expedition due to the unseasonable melting of Arctic ice. Their journey made Swan the first man to walk on both the North and South poles.
After the expedition, he was invited to attend the first earth summit for sustainable development.“I spoke to all the world leaders for five minutes, unfortunately the whole lot of them were asleep but that’s what you face at 8 a.m.! There I met the great Jack Cousteau and he gave me a 50 year mission. He said that in the year 2041, the treaty that protects Antarctica stops so he asked me to get out there to educate people to leave one place on Earth alone forever – to leave one place as a natural reserve, for science and peace. That’s my mission and because no one owns it, we may have a chance.” He said.
In response to the world leaders’ challenge to“Think Global, Act Local”, Swan made a commitment to deliver a global and local environmental mission involving industry, business, and young people to the next World Summit in 2002.
He sailed to the Antarctic once again, this time with 35 young adults from countries that suffer internal conflict. Israel and Palestine, Russia and Chechnya, Irish Catholic and Protestant, India and Pakistan – he took them to the place the world will never fight about, Antarctica. There, they collected 1,500 tons of garbage left by the former Soviet Union. It
“In a world often dominated by things being complicated, I think sometimes we make them complicated But it’s complex world and I think on this day, it wasn’t the Best day ,’we had, But if you make a promise you should keep it. ,’m proud to say that our team pulled together and three of them stayed behind and spent another year in Antarctica.”
took them eight years to remove and 12 million dollars.“We could only go there three months of the year and that is why it took so long.We packed it up, took down a ship, loaded it by hand and recycled it in Uruguay, South America,” He said.
Since than, he has sailed to the antaritc once a year, having built there the first ever education station running only on renewable energy in the hope to inspire young people that if renewable energy could work in Antarctica, it could work elsewhere.
Living on a yatch named named 2041 powered entirely by renewable energy, he sailed to South Africa for the second world summit in 2002 in Johannesburg, and joined a local organisation for a marvelous idea.“We put the 52 ton yacht on a train and we made the longest overland voyage ever made in history.We took the yacht to visit kids who had never seen the sea or boat and 750,000 kids came to see it and we educated them on looking after the environment.”
He arrived at the second world summit once the journey was completed.“On the whole, world leaders are completely useless. Every time I meet them at these summits, they say‘ Well done Rob, we’ll see you at the next summit!’ What is interesting is that between the first and second world summits, there were only two world leaders still there – Fidel Castro and Robert Mugabe!”
“These things might not achieve what they hope to but again, I look at the positive side and I will go to as many world summits as I can possibly manage to go to because achieving something is better than achieving nothing.”
Swan tests brand new renewable energy sources at the education base every time he visits Antartica. He also assisted in the construction of the first education centre in India, built in a tiger reserve. This was done when he made a 5,200 kilometre bike ride across India to educate people on climate change.
“Did you know that the ozone hole has now fixed itself in one place? This is because 23 years ago, governments from across the world signed the Montreal Treaty which banned the use of CFC gases.”
On the way to the third world summit, they encountered a difficulty when its location was switched from Singapore to Rio as they had no funds to make it to the new location. It was then that Swan partnered with Coco-Cola who helped them get to Rio, Swan explained.
If all that wasn’t enough, Sir Swan will be making another life changing trek, this time retracing his steps to the South Pole, relying entirely on renewable energy drawn from sun, wind and algae based biofuels. His son will be joining him as well with a camera in a bid to snare the imagination of the Youtube generation.
“Did you know that the ozone hole has now fixed itself in one place? This is because 23 years ago, governments Irom across the world signed the Montreal Treaty which banned the use of CFC gases.”