On October 7th, something very new and extraordinary happened in our pandemic world: the most famous platform of lectures around the world, TED, decided to hold an online event for the first time in history and, better: totally free of charge and with one of the most important themes in the world: climate change.
Entitled "Countdown", it was described by the organization as a "global initiative to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis. The goal: to build a better future by cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030".
Divided into 5 blocks (urgency, leadership, transformation, breakthroughs and action), the event had 44 speakers, including scientists, activists, artists, writers, philosophers. The names chosen really impress. Look: Pope Francis was one of the speakers!
The dear leader of the Catholic Church spoke about the moral importance of acting for ecological justice and social justice. He recommended 3 steps that we can all take. "The future is built today and it is not built in isolation, but rather in community and in harmony," he said.
Climate and gender activist Ernestine Leikeki Sevidzem proposed the creation of a "forest generation" living in harmony with nature as one of the solutions for climate crisis. The activist Severn Cullis-Suzuki, famous for her speech, at the age of 12, at UN´s Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1992, appeared to again call attention to what could have been done 30 years ago and still has not been. "Make your actions reflect your words," she said.
David Lammy, member of parliament for Tottenham, England, explained how much climate justice is connected to racial justice. Christiana Figueres, who worked hard to make the historic Paris Agreement happen – literally, without her, this would´ve not been possible - shares the importance of being a "stubborn optimistic". It is worth watching her lecture to learn how to be that stubborn optimistic person, especially in times of so much crisis and fear.
Expect to find lectures by Jane Fonda, inspiring songs by Raye Zaragoza, Prince Royce and much, much more. The entire event lasts six and a half hours, is available on Youtube, as well as individual lectures are on TED website.
This event is an extremely necessary must watch so that everyone, everyone, everyone can do our part and together, reduce CO2 emissions by half by 2030. Putting ourselves into action is a humanitarian and ecological responsibility and we will only achieve this - and avoid all the catastrophes of a hotter world in an irreversible situation, as science predicts - if we act quickly and collectively.
See, share with everyone and get inspired to take care of our planet too <3
This theme is fully connected with our courses on sustainability and the protection of our marine life.
