A video recording of the TED talk by Climate Integrate Executive Director Kimiko Hirata at the TED Countdown Summit 2025 has been released on TED.com and the TED YouTube channel.
The TED Countdown Summit, first held in 2021, had its third edition in June 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya. The summits feature scientists, policymakers, business leaders, Nobel laureates and young entrepreneurs as invited speakers from around the world and include a variety of sessions. Speakers at the third summit included former U.S. Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Al Gore and MIT professor and Nobel laureate in economics Esther Duflo. Kimiko was the first speaker from Japan to address these summits.
On the TED stage, she spoke about Climate Integrate’s new approach drawing on her years of experience tackling climate change.
Links:
TED.com
Ted YouTube Channel
[Summary of speech]
I have been working to address climate change for 30 years. There have been ups and downs, but some of the achievements I have made together with my partners came through efforts targeting coal-fired power plants after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011, as well as through shareholder proposals to banks in 2020. From these experiences, I have learned that what seemed impossible was not necessarily impossible.
But there are still major obstacles to addressing climate change. Japan is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels, and the real challenges are yet to come. To transition the entire economy away from fossil fuels, it is not enough to just say “no.” We need to engage in dialogue with people who have differing perspectives, including governments and companies, and to commit to a strong “yes.”
My vision is to help Japan promote renewable energy, achieve decarbonization, and extend that impact across Asia. Climate Integrate’s approach is to show the facts, convey the facts, and promote local initiatives. I have a great team and a network of like-minded people to support me and move forward. You too can find a path that’s right for you. Together, we can change the world from “no to yes.”
* Click here for the full text of her speech.
