INTERVIEW
Jean-Louis Etienne, the first man to have reached the North Pole alone in 1986, was the guest of Matthew Belliard morning in the morning of Europe 1 this Thursday morning, a few hours from the publication of the IPCC report on the cryosphere and the oceans.
"We are not losing the battle. On the contrary, all the statements made at the United Nations are likely, hopefully, to strengthen the fight, "notes Jean-Louis Etienne. The French explorer remains optimistic. It stresses, however, the need to accelerate the treatment of the climate crisis. "If we do not do anything it will be worse, the process is on, there is no on and off button," he says.
"The first 600 kilometers of ice that we passed have disappeared"
In 1989-90, he crossed Antarctica. Some 30 later, he notes: "The first 600 kilometers of ice that we passed have disappeared, some in 2000, some in 2002." Antarctica represents "almost 80% of the world's fresh water reserve". And, with the warming of the ocean especially and the average temperature, "there is an erosion of ice that is on the periphery," says the explorer. Warming water also causes coral bleaching, which can lead to the loss of reefs.
From Greta Thunberg, the young Swedish activist for the fight against global warming, he says: "I think she is touching in the alert." But he has some reservations: "Today, with the indictment of In some countries, we feel that she is no longer in charge and that there is a legal machine behind who is working, of which she is perhaps only a facilitator. "