What a year! I’ve put together some of my top pics from 2021, from Greenland to Glasgow. Enjoy 🇬🇱👇🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

They say hindsight is 2020. When we look back on the COP26 Climate Conference in Glasgow, what will we remember?Sometimes numbers tell a story better than words or images can. The post-COP number that stands out for me is 2°C.At 2°C above pre-industrial temperatures we lose 99% of our coral reefs.

They say three is a magic number. When it comes to temperature, I know this to be true. For a cold-water swimmer, a 3°C change makes a world of difference.The same is true for our planet.

I'm about to swim where I shouldn't be able to, for the second time in my life. All because of ice – or the lack of it.

Last weekend my friend and mentor Dr Otto Thaning became the oldest person to swim from Robben Island to Cape Town at the age of 80. I’ve been asked by many people, what’s his secret?

The science is clear: the African penguin is likely to be functionally extinct on the west coast in less than 15 years, unless we take immediate action. Here's our three-point plan to avert disaster.

When I decided to swim the length of the English Channel, I didn't just dive in at Land’s End and hope for the best.I assembled the very best team. We drafted a training programme. We prepared exceptionally hard. I tried to eat the correct foods. And I made sure my mind-set was right.

We were far out to sea in the English Channel, 32 days into the Long Swim, with a long way to go to Dover.I was swimming past the Isle of Wight in a serious storm and the light was fading fast. Our yacht was surging away from me in the strong winds. The swells were so big that, even if I caught up with her, I didn’t know how I would get back onboard.

In June 2000 the MV ‘Treasure’ sank off Cape Town, spilling 400 tons of bunker oil, imperilling an entire population of African penguins. The response effort, led by South African non-profit SANCCOB was the largest animal rescue in history. 

There is time for reflection and review, and there is time for action.The coronavirus pandemic has given us a massive ‘timeout’. It has given us time to stop and review our actions and reflect on how we can do things better.

I have always seen Norway as a moral leader, with a long tradition of helping people in need. From the work of Fridtjof Nansen repatriating refugees, to Norway’s help in ending Apartheid, you will find Norwegian peace negotiators wherever there is conflict around the world.

I didn't realise the world contained so many different shades of blue. I was surrounded by ice, with the light refracting back at me from every side. I've never been more dazzled. I was in East Antarctica, I was underneath the ice sheet, and I was swimming. It wasn't exactly what I had planned.