Monte Carlo Welcome For Clean Car Show

Europe's car industry is displaying the latest innovations for more environmentally friendly products in Monaco next month, and included will be the very latest green, clean vehicles.

Famous for the annual Monaco Grand Prix, the new car show ties in with Monaco's stance on the environment and carbon emissions.

Since becoming Soverign two years ago, Prince Albert has made the environment a top issue in the principality, and has raised the subject on many occasions with diplomats and politicians throughout the world.

Prince Albert signed the Kyoto Protocol, taking Monaco out of the small group of countries who hadn't ratified the treaty, almost immediately and shortly after took a trip to the Arctic to see for himself and publicise the damage being done by global warming there.

A new island is to be built off Monte Carlo to house a museum, apartments and a school, and will add some 400 acres to Monaco's territory, the second smallest country in the world. Bidders for the development have been told that it is must be environmentally and marine life friendly.

Entry is free for members of the public who want to attend the motor show, and several of the European science community, universities involved in fossil fuel alternatives and motor manufacturers will be attending.

The show runs from Thursday March 29 to Sunday April 1 at the Grimaldi Forum, Avenue Princess Grace, close to Monte Carlo's Casino Square.

There will also be a Monte Carlo style street rally for the public to view the cars in and around Casino Square, scene of some of the Monaco Grand Prix circuit.

Monte Carlo And Carbon Emissions

Prince Albert visited the North Pole shortly after becoming Sovereign to publicise how the Arctic regions are changing with global warming, and one of his first acts was to sign the Kyoto Protocol - along with the US, Monaco was one of the few countries in the world not to endorse it before Prince Albert put pen to paper.

As well as the Monaco Grand Prix, the principality is Europe's best known tax haven, with residents enjoying a zero rated income tax.

With property prices among the highest in the world, residents of Monaco normally need to spend six months a year there to maintain residency.

An announcement has been made recently that a new island is to be built off Monte Carlo, and this will provide more land and property in the world's second smallest country.

Bidders for the development have been asked to take the environment into account - and also the Monaco Grand Prix. Which suggests a possible new route for the race.

Despite being one of the world's most glamourous sporting events the Monaco Grand Prix is notorious for a lack of overtaking opportunities, and the new space might in time address the historical criticism of the race.

Property prices in Monaco are high due to the lack of land - in the past one of the districts, Fontvieille, had much of its area reclaimed from the sea, but property prices there equal those of the better known Monte Carlo.

One of the most popular buildings in Fontvieille, Seaside Plaza, has average prices of three to four million Euros for a three bedroom apartment, and a four bedroom four bathroom one is currently on the market at close to ten million Euros.

One property company who specialise in Monaco property doubt that prices will ease much.

'By the time the development is finished prices would probably have gone up in Monaco anyway, and this new development on the housing side is likely to be aiming for quality rather than quantity', they claim. 'It's almost certain that the properties will be snapped up by investors off-plan, and then come back to the market with a premium once the buildings are complete. The development in itself will attract more attention to the Monaco property market. In the short and medium term prices are likely to rise in Monaco rather than fall'.

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