The 'GREEN BOAT EFFECT' Part I: Yachts And The Environment

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The megayacht industry has blossomed over the last ten years, with multi millionaires and billionaires buying yachts in the tens of millions of Euros price range. When it comes to some billionaires they seem intent on buying a fleet that would put some small countries’ navies to shame.

This may sound boastful, hence sceptics and critics are raising their eyebrows!
What good is it doing at the end of the day?
Are we arriving at a win-win situation when it comes to the protection of the environment and prevention of global warming?
Well, the Monaco Yacht Show has answered these questions and can proudly call itself a 'carbon neutral event'.

Despite being the second smallest country in the world Monaco has established herself as the natural European home for many of the world's wealthiest men and women due to her tax haven status, with many more visiting on holiday while cruising the Mediterranean for the Monte Carlo casino - and Monaco has managed to stay as a top destination by cleverly spotting and exploiting trends ahead of her competitiors.
The Monaco Yacht Show is part of the attraction for the super-rich, and has firmly established itself as the leading super yacht show in the world over the last fifteen years.

Monaco is showing that cuts in carbon emissions and other greenhouse gases are possible in a land of plenty, and the Monaco Yacht Show has successfully achieved carbon neutral status for the 2005, 2006 and 2007 events, thus establishing itself on the map of Monaco as an environmentally friendly event.


To attain carbon neutral status last year, the organisers sponsored various projects in Europe and further afield to offset carbon emissions generated by the show.
The show paid for wind turbines In New Zealand, generating enough electricity for 45,000 homes and in Brittany France paid for a heath to be planted with chesnut and oak trees to protect water catchments and provide a recreational area, while in the USA paid for a methane capture system, reducing the amounts being emitted by some 95 per cent.


The leadership for the move to a greener Monaco has come from Sovereign Prince Albert, who has been successfully campaigning among world leaders since his inauguration two years ago to move the environment up the political agenda, and it has brought the issue to the fore at home.