This is a modern-day David versus Goliath story.
David Ligouy, a French writer, renewable energy specialist and climate activist, has been fighting the Goliath — climate change — for the past six years by travelling around the globe in his specially made solar-powered quadricycle.
On Thursday night, he reached Calcutta from Odisha on his solar bike.
The author of a three-part book series called On the Frontline with a Solar Bike has been campaigning against the expansion of fossil fuels.
His 1.2m by 4m quadricycle, with a maximum speed of a modest 50km an hour, has five solar panels on top that charge two batteries used for driving the vehicle. He has two more batteries as a backup.
“Triggered at the bleak future of the earth, I decided to travel on this solar quadricycle and spread public awareness on the critical situation of global climate change and biodiversity loss,” said Ligouy, then in a hotel near Dakshineswar temple on the northern tip of the city.
“I started from Paris in April 2018 and have so far travelled nonstop for six years and covered 30 countries in five continents — Europe, South America, North America, Africa and Asia. I attended COP28 in Dubai and plan to go to the next climate summit, COP29, at Baku, Azerbaijan,” he told Metro on Friday evening.
“Apart from my quadricycle, I mainly use boats to cris-cross the countries as required and avoid flights,” Ligouy said. His climate campaign is partly funded by donations and partly from his pocket.
“From Dubai, I reached Mumbai harbour, then to Nagpur followed by Chhattisgarh and Odisha before coming to Calcutta. If the political situation permits, I will go to Burma (Myanmar) from here, else I will travel on a different route,” he said.
“I have had fascinating experiences everywhere, including India. In Calcutta, on Thursday night the right wheel of my quadricycle broke after falling into a pothole, and a local gentleman helped me to fix it… amazing,” said the activist who has travelled 45,000km so far.
On Monday, Ligouy met French consul general Didier Talpain and shared his experiences of his trip. Talpain wished him luck for his trip that will end in Baku, Azerbaijan.