Climate change is here, it's real, and it didn't happen overnight. Over the past 150 years, human activities like manufacturing, transportation, commercial agriculture and energy production have created a blanket of carbon pollution that's changed the Earth's ecosystems. But even though the climate crisis is deep-rooted and complex, we can't jus...

Throughout the world, we find ourselves faced with self-inflicted and interconnected problems that challenge our social fabric, our economic security and the very ability of the Earth to sustain us. We aren't short on solutions to address these problems, but we often get caught up in arguments against one another. "Dilemma thinking" invites us t...

This is the climate challenge we face: we need to go from putting 55 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases into the air each year to zero. And it all needs to happen by 2050 at the latest. How can we get there? This quick animated video explains. (Written by David Biello and voiced by Elise Hu)

What is COP26? Here's what you need to know about the crucial UN climate conference set to take place in Glasgow, Scotland from October 31-November 12, 2021. Featuring climate advocate Al Gore; Paris Climate Agreement architect Christiana Figueres; minister and activist Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr.; UN High Level Climate Action Champion for COP25 Go...

The closing session of the TED Countdown Summit in Edinburgh on Friday, October 15, 2021 started with a discussion about the upcoming United Nations climate conference, COP26, which will take place in Glasgow from October 31-November 12, 2021. The discussion -- featuring Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Cl...

In June 2022, TED's climate initiative, Countdown, launched its Dilemma Series: events designed to look at some of the "knots" in the climate change space, where diverging positions have stalled progress and solidified into an inability to collaborate across differences. The event focused on the question: Is there a role for carbon credits in th...

In a panel discussion about fossil fuels and accelerating the trajectory of decarbonization, Christiana Figueres (architect of the Paris Climate Agreement) talks with Chris James (cofounder of the activist fund Engine No. 1), Lauren MacDonald (climate justice activist) and Ben van Beurden (CEO of Royal Dutch Shell). This challenging, enlightenin...

The impacts of climate change are growing, but so are the world's attempts to stop them. Hosted by Manoush Zomorodi of the TED Radio Hour, this special TED documentary examines the rapid technological revolution underway — and the real possibility of a better future for all. Featuring urban planner Anika Goss, scientist and carbon expert Julio F...

What are the realistic pathways off of fossil fuels and towards a world of abundant clean energy? TED Countdown gathered for its second Dilemma Series -- events designed to look at some of the tricky challenges of climate change, where diverging positions have stalled progress -- to answer this core question of the climate crisis. Through TED Ta...

Session 2 of TED's Countdown Dilemma Series from June 2022 features scientists, activists, artists, frontline community leaders and more debating the role for carbon credits in a net-zero future. (Featuring, in order of appearance: Lindsay Levin, Nicole Ng, Derik Broekhoff, Oliver Geden, Elizabeth Willmott, Noorie Rajvanshi, Aaron Rutkoff, Gabri...

Session 1 of TED's Countdown Dilemma Series from June 2022 features scientists, activists, artists, frontline community leaders and more debating the role of carbon credits in a net-zero future. This session focuses on the science of carbon credits, how the current system is failing and various perspectives on how to address these challenges. (F...

Combining new TED Talks with live performances, short films, expert conversations and more, the Countdown Global Livestream event vividly explains the climate crisis, focusing on solutions and calling for leaders and citizens everywhere to step up. Hosted by Latif Nasser, with appearances by AsapSCIENCE, Don Cheadle, TED science curator David Bi...

This virtual event, streamed live on 10.10.2020, is the Global Launch of Countdown, an initiative to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis. Watch five curated sessions packed with more than 50 speakers, activists, actors and musicians, who share actionable and science-backed ideas, paired with moments of wonder, inspiration and optimism.

Launching Countdown means asking big questions: What's the state of the climate today? What does climate science know? How are we going to achieve a net-zero future? How do we center climate justice in our work? This opening session of the Countdown Global Launch, hosted by Mark Ruffalo and Don Cheadle, features Johan Rockström, Angel Hsu, Antón...

The world around us is mainly made of two things: nature and the materials that we extract from it. To fight climate change, we need to protect and regenerate nature and transform materials into low- or zero-carbon alternatives. Session 4 of the Countdown Global Launch, hosted by Prajakta Koli and Hannah Stocking, features Thomas Crowther, Ernes...

The climate crisis demands leadership at every level. Governments, cities and businesses are three key players in designing and implementing the necessary transition -- and putting climate back on the political and social agenda. Session 2 of the Countdown Global Launch, hosted by Al Gore and Jaden Smith, features Severn Cullis-Suzuki, Ursula vo...

It's time to take action. This closing session of the Countdown Global Launch explores the road ahead: How to think urgently and long-term about climate change. How to take into account the interests of future generations in today's decisions. How we as individuals, communities and organizations can contribute to shaping a better future. Session...

Transforming big systems is a huge task. Energy, transportation, industry and infrastructure all pose their own challenges. And yet that transformation is already happening. Session 3 of the Countdown Global Launch, hosted by Jane Fonda and Xiye Bastida, features Varun Sivaram, Myles Allen, Rose M. Mutiso, Monica Araya, Al Gore, Gloria Kasang Bu...

Singer-songwriter Valerie June delivers an uplifting, ethereal performance of "Astral Plane" as part of TED's Countdown Global Livestream on October 30, 2021.

Singer-songwriter Charlie Puth dazzles in a performance of his effortlessly catchy hit "Attention" and an impeccable cover of Stevie Wonder's "You and I", live from the TED Countdown stage.

With his signature verve, guitarist and vocalist Dave Matthews delivers an acoustic performance of "Dive In" as part of TED's Countdown Global Livestream on October 30, 2021.

Concrete is all around us: we use it to build our roads, buildings, bridges and much more. Yet over the last 2,000 years, the art of mixing cement and using it to bind concrete hasn't changed very much -- and it remains one of the world's biggest emitters of carbon. Entrepreneur Tom Schuler previews an innovative way to create concrete, potentia...

Uncontrolled fire threatens nature — but the right kind of fire can maintain the health and balance of the land, says fire management expert Oral McGuire. As a leader in the Nyungar community of southwestern Australia and a former firefighter, he connects traditional wisdom with modern techniques to wield fire in a way that promotes biodiversity...

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 a...

"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, gove...

Concrete is the second most-used substance on Earth (behind water), and it's responsible for eight percent of the world's carbon footprint. Cement researcher Karen Scrivener shares the research behind a pioneering new kind of cement known as LC3, which could slash carbon emissions from this crucial building material by 40 percent, if adopted at ...

A brief answer to one of the key questions about climate change: Why is 1.5 degrees such a big deal? (Written by Myles Allen, David Biello and George Zaidan)

"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 chang...

With the Climate Reality Project, Al Gore is helping mold future leaders to build the movement for climate survival and social justice from the ground up. He introduces us to four of the Project's graduates, each of whom confronts climate change on their own terms: Ximena Loría, founder of Misión 2 Grados, an NGO influencing public policy in Cen...

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, Jack...