"Cutting methane is the single fastest, most effective opportunity to reduce climate change risks in the near term," says atmospheric scientist Ilissa Ocko. That's because, unlike carbon dioxide, methane's warming power doesn't come from a gradual buildup over time but is almost entirely from recent emissions. Ocko identifies three main sources of methane pollution which, if addressed, could dramatically slow down the rate of global warming within years -- not decades. "This is the methane momen...
Nov 17, 2021•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping pledged that China would both peak its emissions by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2060 -- a change that will require action at an unheard-of scale and speed. Can the country actually achieve this ambitious vision? In this forward-looking talk, environmental journalist and analyst Hongqiao Liu explores what the world's largest carbon emitter (and second-largest economy) will need to do to get there. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf...
Nov 12, 2021•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast To fight climate change, we need to clean up the global electricity system by replacing fossil fuel power plants with clean generation -- right? Climate author Solomon Goldstein-Rose thinks we need to do much more than that. Replacement isn't enough, he explains in this compelling talk: we need to rapidly develop a new global system capable of producing 12 times the amount of clean electricity we generate today. He shares four reasons why we need that expansion -- first, to electrify everything ...
Nov 10, 2021•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast We currently have enough fossil fuels to progressively transition off of them, says climate campaigner Tzeporah Berman, but the industry continues to expand oil, gas and coal production and exploration. With searing passion and unflinching nerve, Berman reveals the delusions keeping true progress from being made -- and offers a realistic path forward: the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. Learn more about the global initiative for transparency and accountability in phasing out fossil fuels f...
Nov 06, 2021•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast The roadmap to ending pollution from transportation is here, says electrification advocate Monica Araya. In conversation with head of TED Chris Anderson, Araya introduces Drive Electric: a global campaign to retire the polluting internal combustion engine in time to avoid climate disaster. And she shares some exciting news: a breakthrough funding commitment from the Audacious Project that puts the project well on its way to realizing a billion-dollar plan to supercharge the transition to electri...
Nov 03, 2021•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Living in a city means accepting a certain level of dysfunction: long commutes, noisy streets, underutilized spaces. Carlos Moreno wants to change that. He makes the case for the "15-minute city," where inhabitants have access to all the services they need to live, learn and thrive within their immediate vicinity -- and shares ideas for making urban areas adapt to humans, not the other way around. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Oct 29, 2021•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast What does gender equality have to do with climate change? A lot more than you might think. Empowering women and girls around the world is one of the most important ways to combat carbon pollution and is projected to reduce CO2-equivalent gases by a total of 80 billion tons. Entrepreneur, scientist and TED Fellow Rumaitha Al Busaidi looks at why women are more likely to be impacted and displaced by climate catastrophes -- and explains why access to education, employment and family planning for al...
Oct 27, 2021•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Activism is a tough job, especially for young people yearning for immediate change -- something climate activist Melati Wijsen has learned over ten years of pushing for environmental protection, starting at age 12 in her home on the island of Bali, Indonesia. How can young changemakers acquire the skills they need and keep from burning out? Wijsen offers three pieces of advice for anybody seeking to make lasting, sustainable progress. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Oct 20, 2021•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Agriculture has enabled the existence of civilization—today, approximately 40 percent of our planet is farmland. So it goes without saying there’s a LOT to cover when it comes to talking about modern food production. Dan starts small with something a little more digestible: which milk is best, for you and for the planet? He’ll teach us how to sip sustainably, then take us on a journey through a “perfect” sustainable farm of the future and what we can do to make it a reality. Find the text transc...
Sep 22, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Oil: The prehistoric source of fuel that could drive us all into extinction. We need to pivot to renewable sources of energy, like water, wind and solar to save our planet. But is it actually possible to switch ALL energy sources to these renewables? Dan looks at the problems rushing into them can pose, the barriers we currently face, and why we should all have hope for the future. TED Climate is produced and edited by Sheena Ozaki, mixed by Sam Bair, and hosted by me, Dan Kwartler. This episode...
Sep 15, 2021•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Trees have proven to decrease carbon in our atmosphere, keep cities clean, and even reduce anxiety … but how exactly do they do it? Dan takes us behind the bark to understand the anatomy of our gentle green giants and how every root, leaf and twig work together to improve our planet, and what we can do to help support them in the fight against climate change. TED Climate is produced and edited by Sheena Ozaki, mixed by Sam Bair, and hosted by Dan Kwartler. This episode adapted two lessons origin...
Sep 08, 2021•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast THINGS. They’re everywhere! And we’re constantly being pushed to buy more of them, like the hottest fashion or the latest tech. But the true cost our planet and its climate are paying is much more than the sticker price we see on the shelf. Dan reveals the hidden fees our planet is paying to make everyday items, like the shirt on your back and the phone in your pocket, and ways we can help offset them by being more sustainable shoppers. Find the text transcript for this episode at go.ted.com/TC4...
Sep 01, 2021•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast From raging wildfires in Australia to sub-zero winter storms in Texas, we’re seeing a rise in extreme weather across the globe. But how can we tell what’s caused by climate change, and what’s just bad weather? To answer this question, Dan breaks down the differences between weather and climate—what they are, how we predict them, and what those predictions can tell us. And then we visit a country that should LITERALLY be underwater to see how they’ve used human ingenuity to stay afloat, and what ...
Aug 25, 2021•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast So, in the list of bad actors for the planet there's been the ice age, the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs, and then … us? Yeah, it really looks like that sometimes. But we've got hope! So what can humans do to steer clear of steering the planet into seemingly inevitable doom? To find out, we look at the planet from the eyes of geologists millions of years in the future—and at what the world would look like if every human on earth just … suddenly disappeared. Read the text transcript for this...
Aug 18, 2021•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Plastic is everywhere. We know we should cut down on it where we can, but is plastic ever the answer? In this episode, a whole world of plastic you never knew about. Starting with: which bag is best: paper, plastic, or cotton? The answer might surprise you. Dan breaks down the pros and cons of each bag, and which you should carry on your next shopping trip. Then we follow the journey of three different plastic bottles after you throw them away, shedding light on the dangers these disposables pre...
Aug 11, 2021•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast On his first day as president, Joe Biden signed a letter of acceptance that set in motion the 30-day process for the United States to re-join the Paris Agreement on climate. On the day the US returns to the accord, John Kerry, the US Special Envoy for Climate, sits down with Nobel Laureate Al Gore to discuss the make-or-break decade ahead of us. Listen as Kerry lays out how the US fits into the global plan to get to net-zero emissions, explains why the COP26 UN climate conference could be humani...
Feb 19, 2021•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this perspective-shifting talk, energy researcher Rose M. Mutiso makes the case for prioritizing Africa's needs with what's left of the world's carbon budget, to foster growth and equitably achieve a smaller global carbon footprint. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Nov 23, 2020•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast "The good news is it's now clearly cheaper to save the planet than to ruin it," says engineer and investor John Doerr. "The bad news is: we are fast running out of time." In this conversation with climate policy expert Hal Harvey, the two sustainability leaders discuss why humanity has to act globally, at speed and at scale, to meet the staggering challenge of decarbonizing the global economy (which has only ever increased emissions throughout history) -- and share helpful examples of promising ...
Nov 23, 2020•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast "Business is screwed if we don't fix climate change," says economist Rebecca Henderson. In this bold talk, she describes how unchecked capitalism destabilizes the environment and harms human health -- and makes the case for companies to step up and help fix the climate crisis they're causing. Hear what a reimagined capitalism, in which companies pay for the climate damage they cause, could look like. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 23, 2020•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sophie Howe is the world's only future generations commissioner, a new kind of government official tasked with advocating for the interests of generations to come and holding public institutions accountable for delivering long-term change. She describes some of the people-focused policies she's helped implement in Wales, aimed at cutting carbon emissions, increasing sustainability and promoting well-being as a national goal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 20, 2020•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 2019, Amazon signed the Climate Pledge, a commitment to become a net-zero carbon business by 2040. Dave Clark, Amazon's chief of consumer retail, and Kara Hurst, head of the company's sustainability efforts, sit down with entrepreneur and activist Lindsay Levin to discuss how the company is planning to reduce its carbon footprint across all aspects of business -- while inviting other companies to join them in this transformation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 18, 2020•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Under the leadership of Lisa Jackson, Apple's environment and social VP and former head of the EPA, the company is already carbon neutral within their own corporate and retail boundaries. By 2030, Apple hopes to extend carbon neutrality to their supply chain and consumers. In conversation with urbanist and spatial justice activist Liz Ogbu, Jackson shares thoughts on leadership, tech, the environment and building a green economy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 18, 2020•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Our descendants own the future, but the decisions and actions we make now will tremendously impact generations to come, says philosopher Roman Krznaric. From a global campaign to grant legal personhood to nature to a groundbreaking lawsuit by a coalition of young activists, Krznaric shares examples of ways we can become good ancestors -- or, as he calls them, "Time Rebels" -- and join a movement redefining lifespans, pursuing intergenerational justice and practicing deep love for the planet. Hos...
Nov 16, 2020•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast "This decade is a moment of choice unlike any we have ever lived," says Christiana Figueres, the architect of the historic 2015 Paris Agreement. The daughter of Costa Rica's beloved President José Figueres Ferrer, she shares how her father's unwillingness to lose the country he loved taught her how stubborn optimism can catalyze action and change. With an unshakeable determination to fight for the generations that will come after us, Figueres describes what stubborn optimism is (and isn't) -- an...
Nov 16, 2020•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast The global climate crisis will require us to transform the way we act, says His Holiness Pope Francis. Delivering a visionary TED Talk from Vatican City, the spiritual leader proposes three courses of action to address the world’s growing environmental problems and economic inequalities, illustrating how all of us can work together, across faiths and societies, to protect the Earth and promote the dignity of everyone. “The future is built today,” he says. “And it is not built in isolation, but r...
Oct 11, 2020•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast "We start this new decade knowing that it is the most consequential period in history," says Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge. Inspired by President John F. Kennedy's "Moonshot," he calls on everyone to rise to our greatest challenge ever: the "Earthshot." A set of ambitious objectives for the planet, the Earthshot goals seek to protect and restore nature, clean the air, revive oceans, build a waste-free world and fix the climate -- all in the next decade. To do it, we'll need people in all...
Oct 10, 2020•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast If we don’t act now on climate change, this coming century may be one of humanity’s last, says António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations. As the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, Guterres urges us to use this moment to rebuild with ambitious climate action in mind -- and lays out a blueprint for getting companies, governments and countries to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. “We can only win the race to zero together,” he says. “I urge you all to get on board.” H...
Oct 10, 2020•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast The secret to using trees to fight climate change is knowing which ones to plant, and where. Ecologist Thomas Crowther — setting the record straight on his own research that led to the viral “One Trillion Trees” movement — introduces Restor, an expansive, informative platform built to enable everyone, anywhere to join and help restore the natural glory of Earth’s biodiverse ecosystems. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Oct 10, 2020•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast "History has shown us that in moments of crisis, society can truly transform," says environmental educator Severn Cullis-Suzuki. Nearly 30 years ago, at just 12 years old, she spoke at the Rio Earth Summit in hopes of reversing the planet's slide into ecological disaster. Some at the summit listened and took radical action, but for the rest of the world, it was business, politics and full-steam-ahead economic growth. Now, Cullis-Suzuki shares another warning about the future, this time informed ...
Oct 10, 2020•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast “For the first time, we are forced to consider the real risk of destabilizing the entire planet,” says climate impact scholar Johan Rockström. In a talk backed by vivid animations of the climate crisis, he shows how nine out of 15 big biophysical systems that regulate the climate -- from the permafrost of Siberia to the great forests of the North to the Amazon rainforest -- are at risk of approaching tipping points, which could make Earth largely uninhabitable for humanity. Hear his plan for put...
Oct 10, 2020•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
