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...

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...

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.

Vegan chef (and head chef of TED Countdown Summit) Derek Sarno is on a mission to unleash the mighty power of plants, creating nutritious food from mushrooms and vegetables that's full of texture and flavor -- and good for the planet. He dishes out some creative cooking inspiration and shares how his personal journey led him to create amazing fo...

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...

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)

If you're a frequent flier, you're also a major polluter. What if there was a way to travel the world with less impact on the environment? In this quick, exciting talk, aviation entrepreneur and TED Fellow Cory Combs lays out how electric aircraft could make flying cleaner, quieter and more affordable -- and shares his work on Electric EEL, the ...

A brief answer to one of the key questions about climate change: Where does all the carbon we release go? (Written by Myles Allen, David Biello and George Zaidan)

A brief answer to one of the key questions about climate change: Why is the world warming up? (Written by Myles Allen, David Biello and George Zaidan)

A brief answer to one of the key questions about climate change: Why act now? (Written by Myles Allen, David Biello and George Zaidan)

A brief answer to one of the key questions about climate change: What is net-zero? (Written by Myles Allen, David Biello and George Zaidan)

"If we want to avoid a climate disaster, we need much more radical leadership," says Jim Snabe, who knows a thing or two about leadership as chairman of the world's largest maritime shipping company. In a stirring talk, he encourages companies to take big, bold actions to tackle climate change — and invites anyone to join the TED Future Forum, a...

The developing world is most affected by climate change but has contributed the least to the problem. Meanwhile, rich countries historically exacerbated the environmental crisis and grew wealthy as a result -- but aren't helping developing countries build climate resilience, which is now more crucial than ever to slowing climate change everywher...

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...

How can cities become resilient to the shocks of climate change? As a leading force behind Detroit's ongoing revitalization, Anika Goss spends a lot of time thinking about this question. Connecting the city's industrial past to its sustainable future, she explores the link between climate vulnerability and economic inequity, offering a vision fo...

Detroit Youth Choir rocks the house with a performance of "Hey Look Ma, I Made It" by Panic! At The Disco and "Believer" by Imagine Dragons, putting their vocals (and dance moves) on full display.

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 ...

Sharing the inside scoop on how the world's largest food company aims to reach net zero by 2050, Nestlé North America CEO Steve Presley joins TED's Lindsay Levin to discuss the progress they've made so far and where they're investing for sustainability. A big focus will be regenerative agriculture -- producing food in a way that helps the planet...

"AI can be a transformational tool in our fight against climate change," says Sims Witherspoon, a leader at the AI research lab Google DeepMind. Using wind power as her case study, she explains how powerful neural networks can help us better predict Earth's changing ecosystems and accelerate the breakthrough science needed to create a carbon-fre...

Theater has the power to transform the most pressing issues of our time from news stories into human stories, says director and playwright Amir Nizar Zuabi. Recounting his work on the journey of Little Amal — a 13-foot puppet symbolizing the refugee experience — Zuabi unveils his newest project: "The Herds," a vast theatrical production of anima...

A landfill on fire doesn't only emit a horrid stench — it has devastating consequences for the environment, too. The culprit is methane, an often underestimated greenhouse gas produced in large part by food systems, organic waste and yes, cow burps. Biochemical engineer Marcelo Mena explains the source of this sneaky pollutant, why its emissions...

A Chinese saying goes, "There's no pleasure in eating without meat." And the data backs that up: every year, China consumes 26 percent of the world's meat and 45 percent of its seafood — numbers that could grow alongside rising incomes. Impact investor Tao Zhang shows why getting Chinese consumers to switch to plant-based alternatives is vital t...

In the long term, shutting down a coal mine means cleaner air and a healthier environment — but in the short term, it can devastate a community or family that relied on the mine's paychecks to make ends meet. Environmental justice advocate Payton M. Wilkins thinks we can protect both workers and the planet with an age-old solution: unions. He di...

Climate justice is taking center stage -- geopolitically, socially and morally. In a contagiously courageous conversation, Member of Parliament in the UK David Lammy and Tennessee state representative Justin J. Pearson discuss how brave leadership can shepherd global movements and uplift historically marginalized communities in the face of human...

What's it like keeping the lights on during war? Ukrainian energy executive Maxim Timchenko shares how his company has diversified Ukraine's power structures to survive Russian attacks, highlighting the resilience of renewable energy. Hear more about Ukraine's present-day challenges, how it's become a testing ground in the global fight against c...

The key to revolutionizing the world's energy landscape may lie in an unlikely love story, says energy innovator Olivia Breese. She details the fateful marriage of a green electron and a water molecule -- a powerful source of carbon-free, sustainable energy -- and calls for universal investment in this potentially transformative resource. "A wor...

What would it take to make global supply chains cleaner and greener? Bo Cerup-Simonsen -- who's helping decarbonize the maritime industry as CEO of the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping -- discusses why tenacious collaboration is key to orchestrating systemic change. In conversation with TED's Lindsay Levin, he shares import...