WEBVTT 00:00:00.764 --> 00:00:04.094 Let's go south. 00:00:04.094 --> 00:00:10.539 All of you are actually going south. 00:00:10.539 --> 00:00:15.229 This is the direction of south, this way, 00:00:15.229 --> 00:00:21.749 and if you go 8,000 kilometers out of the back of this room, 00:00:21.749 --> 00:00:26.982 you will come to as far south as you can go anywhere on Earth, 00:00:26.982 --> 00:00:29.393 the Pole itself. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:29.393 --> 00:00:33.201 Now, I am not an explorer. 00:00:33.201 --> 00:00:36.753 I'm not an environmentalist. 00:00:36.753 --> 00:00:40.282 I'm actually just a survivor, 00:00:40.282 --> 00:00:45.851 and these photographs that I'm showing you here are dangerous. 00:00:45.851 --> 00:00:51.976 They are the ice melt of the South and North Poles. 00:00:51.976 --> 00:00:53.516 And ladies and gentlemen, 00:00:53.516 --> 00:00:59.944 we need to listen to what these places are telling us, 00:00:59.944 --> 00:01:06.190 and if we don't, we will end up with our own survival situation 00:01:06.190 --> 00:01:09.636 here on planet Earth. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:09.636 --> 00:01:15.668 I have faced head-on these places, 00:01:15.668 --> 00:01:20.196 and to walk across a melting ocean of ice 00:01:20.196 --> 00:01:23.330 is without doubt the most frightening thing 00:01:23.330 --> 00:01:27.117 that's ever happened to me. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:27.117 --> 00:01:33.064 Antarctica is such a hopeful place. 00:01:33.064 --> 00:01:39.695 It is protected by the Antarctic Treaty, signed in 1959. 00:01:40.845 --> 00:01:47.100 In 1991, a 50-year agreement was entered into 00:01:47.100 --> 00:01:52.855 that stops any exploitation in Antarctica, 00:01:52.855 --> 00:01:57.695 and this agreement could be altered, 00:01:57.695 --> 00:02:03.058 changed, modified, or even abandoned 00:02:03.058 --> 00:02:07.907 starting in the year 2041. 00:02:09.527 --> 00:02:12.299 Ladies and gentlemen, 00:02:12.299 --> 00:02:18.267 people already far up north from here in the Arctic 00:02:18.267 --> 00:02:21.378 are already taking advantage 00:02:21.378 --> 00:02:25.325 of this ice melt, 00:02:25.325 --> 00:02:31.553 taking out resources from areas already that have been covered in ice 00:02:31.553 --> 00:02:34.961 for the last 10, 20, 30,000, 00:02:34.961 --> 00:02:38.305 100,000 years. 00:02:38.305 --> 00:02:41.578 Can they not join the dots 00:02:41.578 --> 00:02:47.940 and think, "Why is the ice actually melting?" NOTE Paragraph 00:02:47.940 --> 00:02:51.284 This is such an amazing place, 00:02:51.284 --> 00:02:55.138 the Antarctic, and I have worked hard 00:02:55.138 --> 00:03:00.293 for the last 23 years on this mission 00:03:00.293 --> 00:03:04.297 to make sure that what's happening up here in the North 00:03:04.297 --> 00:03:09.716 does never happen, cannot happen in the South. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:09.716 --> 00:03:11.508 Where did this all begin? 00:03:11.508 --> 00:03:14.457 It began for me at the age of 11. 00:03:14.457 --> 00:03:17.452 Check out that haircut. It's a bit odd. (Laughter) 00:03:17.452 --> 00:03:22.556 And at the age of 11, I was inspired by the real explorers 00:03:22.556 --> 00:03:27.320 to want to try to be the first to walk to both Poles. 00:03:27.320 --> 00:03:31.685 I found it incredibly inspiring 00:03:31.685 --> 00:03:35.563 that the idea of becoming a polar traveler 00:03:35.563 --> 00:03:39.910 went down pretty well with girls at parties when I was at university. 00:03:39.910 --> 00:03:41.878 That was a bit more inspiring. 00:03:41.878 --> 00:03:45.500 And after years, seven years of fundraising, 00:03:45.500 --> 00:03:48.147 seven years of being told no, 00:03:48.147 --> 00:03:54.393 seven years of being told by my family to seek counseling 00:03:54.393 --> 00:03:58.155 and psychiatric help, 00:03:58.155 --> 00:04:04.112 eventually three of us found ourselves marching to the South Geographic Pole 00:04:04.112 --> 00:04:10.140 on the longest unassisted march ever made anywhere on Earth in history. 00:04:10.140 --> 00:04:13.874 In this photograph, we are standing in an area 00:04:13.874 --> 00:04:17.612 the size of the United States of America, 00:04:17.612 --> 00:04:18.936 and we're on our own. 00:04:18.936 --> 00:04:22.467 We have no radio communications, no backup. 00:04:22.467 --> 00:04:29.281 Beneath our feet, 90 percent of all the world's ice, 00:04:30.220 --> 00:04:34.353 70 percent of all the world's fresh water. 00:04:34.353 --> 00:04:36.095 We're standing on it. 00:04:36.095 --> 00:04:40.762 This is the power of Antarctica. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:40.762 --> 00:04:44.268 On this journey, we faced the danger of crevasses, 00:04:44.268 --> 00:04:46.566 intense cold, 00:04:46.566 --> 00:04:52.046 so cold that sweat turns to ice inside your clothing, 00:04:52.046 --> 00:04:53.834 your teeth can crack, 00:04:53.834 --> 00:04:55.993 water can freeze in your eyes. 00:04:55.993 --> 00:04:59.058 Let's just say it's a bit chilly. (Laughter) 00:04:59.058 --> 00:05:03.229 And after 70 desperate days, we arrive at the South Pole. 00:05:03.229 --> 00:05:04.977 We had done it. 00:05:04.977 --> 00:05:10.696 But something happened to me on that 70-day journey in 1986 00:05:10.696 --> 00:05:13.500 that brought me here, and it hurt. 00:05:13.500 --> 00:05:18.615 My eyes changed color in 70 days through damage. 00:05:18.615 --> 00:05:20.652 Our faces blistered out. 00:05:20.652 --> 00:05:25.644 The skin ripped off and we wondered why. 00:05:25.644 --> 00:05:29.173 And when we got home, we were told by NASA 00:05:29.173 --> 00:05:32.029 that a hole in the ozone had been discovered 00:05:32.029 --> 00:05:33.562 above the South Pole, 00:05:33.562 --> 00:05:38.925 and we'd walked underneath it the same year it had been discovered. 00:05:38.925 --> 00:05:44.896 Ultraviolet rays down, hit the ice, bounced back, fried out the eyes, 00:05:44.896 --> 00:05:48.027 ripped off our faces. 00:05:48.027 --> 00:05:51.371 It was a bit of a shock -- (Laughter) -- 00:05:51.371 --> 00:05:54.877 and it started me thinking. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:54.877 --> 00:05:58.104 In 1989, we now head north. 00:05:58.104 --> 00:06:02.743 Sixty days, every step away from the safety of land 00:06:02.743 --> 00:06:04.629 across a frozen ocean. 00:06:04.629 --> 00:06:06.854 It was desperately cold again. 00:06:06.854 --> 00:06:12.937 Here's me coming in from washing naked at -60 Celsius. 00:06:13.823 --> 00:06:18.304 And if anybody ever says to you, "I am cold" -- (Laughter) -- 00:06:18.305 --> 00:06:24.040 if they look like this, they are cold, definitely. 00:06:24.040 --> 00:06:26.958 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:06:26.958 --> 00:06:32.982 And 1,000 kilometers away from the safety of land, 00:06:32.982 --> 00:06:35.646 disaster strikes. 00:06:35.646 --> 00:06:43.401 The Arctic Ocean melts beneath our feet four months before it ever had in history, 00:06:43.401 --> 00:06:46.910 and we're 1,000 kilometers from safety. 00:06:46.910 --> 00:06:52.684 The ice is crashing around us, grinding, and I'm thinking, "Are we going to die?" 00:06:53.411 --> 00:06:57.614 But something clicked in my head on this day, 00:06:57.614 --> 00:07:04.706 as I realized we, as a world, are in a survival situation, 00:07:04.706 --> 00:07:09.070 and that feeling has never gone away for 25 long years. 00:07:09.070 --> 00:07:13.543 Back then, we had to march or die. 00:07:13.543 --> 00:07:17.351 And we're not some TV survivor program. 00:07:17.351 --> 00:07:20.282 When things go wrong for us, it's life or death, 00:07:20.282 --> 00:07:23.596 and our brave African-American Daryl, 00:07:23.596 --> 00:07:27.474 who would become the first American to walk to the North Pole, 00:07:27.474 --> 00:07:32.064 his heel dropped off from frostbite 200 klicks out. 00:07:32.071 --> 00:07:34.231 He must keep going, he does, 00:07:34.231 --> 00:07:39.061 and after 60 days on the ice, we stood at the North Pole. 00:07:39.061 --> 00:07:40.555 We had done it. 00:07:40.555 --> 00:07:45.825 Yes, I became the first person in history stupid enough to walk to both Poles, 00:07:45.825 --> 00:07:48.217 but it was our success. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:49.387 --> 00:07:53.247 And sadly, on return home, 00:07:53.247 --> 00:07:56.382 it was not all fun. 00:07:56.382 --> 00:07:58.123 I became very low. 00:07:58.123 --> 00:08:04.412 To succeed at something is often harder than actually making it happen. 00:08:04.412 --> 00:08:08.525 I was empty, lonely, financially destroyed. 00:08:08.525 --> 00:08:10.870 I was without hope, 00:08:10.870 --> 00:08:14.585 but hope came in the form of the great Jacques Cousteau, 00:08:14.585 --> 00:08:19.981 and he inspired me to take on the 2041 mission. 00:08:19.981 --> 00:08:23.153 Being Jacques, he gave me clear instructions: 00:08:23.153 --> 00:08:27.550 Engage the world leaders, talk to industry and business, 00:08:27.550 --> 00:08:31.489 and above all, Rob, inspire young people, 00:08:31.489 --> 00:08:36.344 because they will choose the future of the preservation of Antarctica. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:36.344 --> 00:08:40.730 For the world leaders, we've been to every world Earth Summit, 00:08:40.730 --> 00:08:45.095 all three of them, with our brave yacht, 2041, 00:08:45.095 --> 00:08:49.925 twice to Rio, once in '92, once in 2012, 00:08:49.925 --> 00:08:53.547 and for the Earth Summit in Johannesburg, 00:08:53.547 --> 00:09:00.859 we made the longest overland voyage ever made with a yacht, 00:09:00.861 --> 00:09:05.040 13,000 kilometers around the whole of Southern Africa 00:09:05.040 --> 00:09:11.518 doing our best to inspire over a million young people in person 00:09:11.518 --> 00:09:16.580 about 2041 and about their environment. NOTE Paragraph 00:09:16.580 --> 00:09:23.495 For the last 11 years, we have taken over 1,000 people, 00:09:23.499 --> 00:09:26.518 people from industry and business, women and men from companies, 00:09:26.518 --> 00:09:30.893 students from all over the world, down to Antarctica, 00:09:30.893 --> 00:09:34.002 and during those missions, we've managed to pull out 00:09:34.002 --> 00:09:39.652 over 1,500 tons of twisted metal left in Antarctica. 00:09:39.652 --> 00:09:43.111 That took eight years, and I'm so proud of it 00:09:43.111 --> 00:09:50.246 because we recycled all of it back here in South America. 00:09:50.246 --> 00:09:53.754 I have been inspired ever since I could walk 00:09:53.754 --> 00:09:57.051 to recycle by my mum. 00:09:57.051 --> 00:09:59.528 Here she is, and my mum -- 00:09:59.528 --> 00:10:03.175 (Applause) -- 00:10:03.175 --> 00:10:05.872 my mum is still recycling, 00:10:05.872 --> 00:10:10.847 and as she is in her 100th year, isn't that fantastic? 00:10:10.847 --> 00:10:13.197 (Applause) 00:10:13.197 --> 00:10:16.439 And when -- I love my mum. 00:10:16.439 --> 00:10:17.559 (Laughter) 00:10:17.559 --> 00:10:20.780 But when Mum was born, 00:10:20.780 --> 00:10:27.119 the population of our planet was only 1.8 billion people, 00:10:27.119 --> 00:10:29.070 and talking in terms of billions, 00:10:29.070 --> 00:10:32.738 we have taken young people from industry and business 00:10:32.738 --> 00:10:34.944 from India, from China. 00:10:34.944 --> 00:10:40.724 These are game-changing nations, and will be hugely important 00:10:40.724 --> 00:10:45.544 in the decision about the preservation of the Antarctic. 00:10:45.544 --> 00:10:52.393 Unbelievably, we've engaged and inspired women to come from the Middle East, 00:10:52.393 --> 00:10:58.551 often for the first time they've represented their nations in Antarctica. 00:10:58.551 --> 00:11:01.066 Fantastic people, so inspired. 00:11:01.066 --> 00:11:04.322 To look after Antarctica, 00:11:04.322 --> 00:11:10.658 you've got to first engage people with this extraordinary place, 00:11:10.658 --> 00:11:14.858 form a relationship, form a bond, 00:11:14.858 --> 00:11:17.621 form some love. 00:11:17.621 --> 00:11:21.080 It is such a privilege to go to Antarctica, 00:11:21.080 --> 00:11:22.427 I can't tell you. 00:11:22.427 --> 00:11:24.006 I feel so lucky, 00:11:24.006 --> 00:11:27.233 and I've been 35 times in my life, 00:11:27.233 --> 00:11:31.951 and all those people who come with us return home as great champions, 00:11:31.951 --> 00:11:33.899 not only for Antarctica, 00:11:33.899 --> 00:11:37.543 but for local issues back in their own nations. NOTE Paragraph 00:11:37.543 --> 00:11:43.891 Let's go back to where we began: the ice melt of the North and South Poles. 00:11:43.891 --> 00:11:46.433 And it's not good news. 00:11:47.713 --> 00:11:51.689 NASA informed us six months ago 00:11:51.689 --> 00:11:56.688 that the Western Antarctic Ice Shelf is now disintegrating. 00:11:56.688 --> 00:11:59.113 Huge areas of ice -- 00:11:59.113 --> 00:12:03.385 look how big Antarctica is even compared to here -- 00:12:03.385 --> 00:12:07.926 Huge areas of ice are breaking off from Antarctica, 00:12:07.926 --> 00:12:10.761 the size of small nations. 00:12:10.761 --> 00:12:15.166 And NASA have calculated that the sea level will rise, 00:12:15.166 --> 00:12:17.340 it is definite, 00:12:17.340 --> 00:12:20.753 by one meter in the next 100 years, 00:12:20.753 --> 00:12:24.288 the same time that my mum has been on planet Earth. 00:12:24.288 --> 00:12:25.978 It's going to happen, 00:12:25.978 --> 00:12:30.309 and I've realized that the preservation of Antarctica 00:12:31.649 --> 00:12:36.194 and our survival here on Earth are linked. 00:12:36.194 --> 00:12:38.088 And there is a very simple solution. 00:12:38.088 --> 00:12:43.607 If we are using more renewable energy in the real world, 00:12:43.607 --> 00:12:49.469 if we are being more efficient with the energy here, 00:12:49.469 --> 00:12:53.765 running our energy mix in a cleaner way, 00:12:53.765 --> 00:12:58.611 there will be no financial reason to go and exploit Antarctica. 00:12:58.611 --> 00:13:00.670 It won't make financial sense, 00:13:00.670 --> 00:13:07.366 and if we manage our energy better, we also may be able to slow down, 00:13:08.366 --> 00:13:10.506 maybe even stop, 00:13:10.506 --> 00:13:13.547 this great ice melt that threatens us. NOTE Paragraph 00:13:13.547 --> 00:13:17.097 It's a big challenge, and what is our response to it? 00:13:17.097 --> 00:13:21.069 We've got to go back one last time, 00:13:21.069 --> 00:13:22.965 and at the end of next year, 00:13:22.965 --> 00:13:26.800 we will go back to the South Geographic Pole, 00:13:26.800 --> 00:13:31.052 where we arrived 30 years ago on foot, 00:13:31.052 --> 00:13:36.777 and retrace our steps of 1,600 kilometers, 00:13:36.777 --> 00:13:42.827 but this time only using renewable energy to survive. 00:13:42.827 --> 00:13:48.386 We will walk across those icecaps, which far down below are melting, 00:13:48.386 --> 00:13:53.295 hopefully inspiring some solutions on that issue. NOTE Paragraph 00:13:53.295 --> 00:13:55.720 This is my son, Barney. 00:13:55.720 --> 00:13:58.511 He is coming with me. 00:13:58.511 --> 00:14:03.261 He is committed to walking side by side with his father, 00:14:03.261 --> 00:14:07.275 and what he will do is to translate these messages 00:14:07.275 --> 00:14:12.900 and inspire these messages to the minds of future young leaders. 00:14:12.900 --> 00:14:14.939 I'm extremely proud of him. 00:14:14.939 --> 00:14:18.421 Good on him, Barney. NOTE Paragraph 00:14:19.623 --> 00:14:25.609 Ladies and gentlemen, a survivor -- and I'm good -- 00:14:26.198 --> 00:14:33.535 a survivor sees a problem and doesn't go, "Whatever." 00:14:34.686 --> 00:14:38.846 A survivor sees a problem and deals with that problem 00:14:38.846 --> 00:14:41.919 before it becomes a threat. 00:14:41.919 --> 00:14:47.967 We have 27 years to preserve the Antarctic. 00:14:47.967 --> 00:14:50.482 We all own it. 00:14:50.482 --> 00:14:53.262 We all have responsibility. 00:14:53.262 --> 00:14:58.232 The fact that nobody owns it maybe means that we can succeed. 00:14:58.232 --> 00:15:03.051 Antarctica is a moral line in the snow, 00:15:03.051 --> 00:15:06.598 and on one side of that line we should fight, 00:15:06.598 --> 00:15:12.311 fight hard for this one beautiful, pristine place left alone on Earth. 00:15:12.311 --> 00:15:14.472 I know it's possible. 00:15:14.472 --> 00:15:16.492 We are going to do it. 00:15:16.492 --> 00:15:20.370 And I'll leave you with these words from Goethe. 00:15:20.370 --> 00:15:22.497 I've tried to live by them. NOTE Paragraph 00:15:23.977 --> 00:15:29.858 "If you can do, or dream you can, 00:15:31.262 --> 00:15:34.234 begin it now, 00:15:34.234 --> 00:15:41.026 for boldness has genius, power and magic in it." NOTE Paragraph 00:15:41.026 --> 00:15:42.590 Good luck to you all. NOTE Paragraph 00:15:42.590 --> 00:15:44.750 Thank you very much. NOTE Paragraph 00:15:44.750 --> 00:15:49.115 (Applause)