© Leslie Hondebrink-Hermer, Embassy of France in the Netherlands

H.E. Mr. François ALABRUNE, French Ambassador to the Netherlands, attended a reception hosted by the Alliance Française in The Hague on June 10^th, 2024 on the occasion of the opening of a visual exhibition adapted from the graphic Novel of Jean Marc Jancovici, “ Le monde sans fin ” “A world without end” in presence of two distinguished guests: Mr. Yves Bamberger, founder and President of honour of the Academy of technology in France and Ms. Audrey Legat, Senior Advisor for Water Management and International Cooperation at Delatares; moderated by Ms. Hélène Pichon, Director of the Alliance Française of The Hague and Coordinator of the 31 Alliances Françaises in the Netherlands.

H.E. Mr. François ALABRUNE highlighted priorities of the Franco-Dutch relations: ecology, water management, transportation, urbanization, all of which are major diplomatic and political issues: Researchers play an important role in the crafting of innovative solutions, as clearly demonstrated in the book “A world without end” by Jean Marc JANCOVICI and during the debate with Mr. BAMBERGER and Mrs. LEGAT.

“The road to decarbonization is long and it is important to mobilize our efforts and raise awareness of these challenges.” emphasized by H.E. Mr. François ALABRUNE. 

From a historical point of view, the planet has experienced 2 waves in which electricity consumption has increased. The first wave of electrification took place at the beginning of the 20th century. Mr. Yves Bamberger argues that the second wave is beginning today, with a 20% increase in electricity consumption worldwide.

Planet Earth is nicknamed ‘the blue planet’, but are our water resources as promising? In reality, the amount of water on our planet is equal to half the surface area of the USA. Of this, only 3% is fresh water. Mrs. Audrey LEGAT reminds us of the 3 major challenges posed by water scarcity: too much, in terms of flooding; too little, in terms of drought; and too polluted, in terms of water contamination.

Water is at the heart of the climate change debate, as almost 90% of the risks associated with climate change will be water-related in the coming years.

Mrs. Audrey LEGAT proposes solutions to improve water management. She reminded us that one of the most promising solutions is the great green wall that crosses Africa from east to west.The second challenge we face is how to preserve our lifestyles over the next 15 years. The main solution is to encourage the emergence of low-carbon energies such as renewable energies. Finally, Mr. Yves Bamberger believes that there is a need to coordinate actions at all levels.