2021 TED Countdown’s “Take Action on Climate Change” replay, plus Louie Schwartzberg’s MovingArt. American University announces the upcoming “Seeing Climate Change” virtual symposium, and Fidelity International to divest 50% of fossil fuel stocks by 2030!
If you love binge watching your favorite shows, then you might be down for binge-watching a fast-paced, well-crafted coupla hours of climate action cheerleading and motivation on YouTube. We watched it live on Saturday.
YouTube Originals presented the TED Countdown Global Livestream, in their words, an empowering event laying out a credible and realistic pathway to a net-zero future.
Hosted by Latif Nasser, with appearances by AsapSCIENCE, Don Cheadle, TED science curator David Biello, Christiana Figueres, Al Gore, Joe Hanson, Valerie June, Regina Hall, Prajakta Koli, Rooney Mara, Dave Matthews, Amina Mohammed, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlie Puth, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Mark Ruffalo, Mark Vins, Forest Whitaker, Rainn Wilson and more. In other words, somebody for everybody.
Also who show up are scientists, activists, artists and leaders from business and government. Combining new TED Talks with live performances, short films, expert conversations and more, this event is intended to vividly explain the climate crisis, focusing on solutions and calling for leaders and citizens everywhere to step up.
Click on the link in the Deeper Dive section of this show at theclimate.org/episodes.
DEEPER DIVE: YouTube
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again—Climate Change affects everything, and if we want to understand its effects on us, we must approach it from all aspects of human endeavor—science, business, technology, physiology, spirituality and culture.
And that’s what Louie Schwartzberg is doing with his films. Schwartzberg is on point and on fire with two current projects. The first, Fantastic Fungi, explores the world of mushrooms and mycelium and illustrates how this fascinating organism can provide sustainable solutions to some of the world’s greatest problems: treating cancer, Alzheimer’s and PTSD, saving the bees and cleaning the atmosphere.
The second is his Netflix series, called Moving Art. It’s designed to inspire, educate and evolve our perspective on the world. Each episode immerses viewers in the natural world, taking viewers on a journey through time and scale.
That’s why Louie Schwartzberg matters to us. His films help shift consciousness. And a lot of consciousness is going to need shifting as we all become immersed in the climate crisis. As people are different, so too do they learn to accept and act positively in different ways.
Fortunately, Schwartzberg plays to his strong suit—finding the beauty in the natural world and sharing it with us. He says, “I hope my films inspire and open people’s hearts. Beauty is nature’s tool for survival – we protect what we love. That is the shift in consciousness we need to sustain and celebrate life.”
Here’s hoping his works continue to have a positive effect on the future of the planet. Check out Netflix and look for Moving Art—three phenomenal seasons are on the docket. And for more on Louie Schwartzberg, check out the Deeper Dive Section of this episode @ theclimate.org/episodes.
DEEPER DIVE: Netflix, MovingArt, Wikipedia
Just want to hip you to a climate change virtual symposium sponsored by American University in Washington, DC. It’s the first annual “Seeing Climate Change” symposium. Saturday, November 6
“Seeing Climate Change” will bring together leading figures from the arts, sciences, and policy worlds to examine how best to understand and respond to human-induced global heating.
The virtual event will take place this Saturday, November 6 and will be broken out into three sessions along with a keynote speech from Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali over “lunch.”
· Session I: Who Sets the Climate Agenda, 9:00-10:15 a.m.
· Session II: Making Change—Voices in Climate Action, 10:45-12:00 p.m.
· Lunchtime Keynote Speaker: Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali, 12:30-1:45 p.m.
· Session III: Making Climate Change Visible, 2:00-3:15 p.m.
· Closing Keynote Speaker: Devi Lockwood 3:30-4:45 p.m.
I will have the distinct pleasure and high honor of moderating the Session II panel discussion, Voices in Climate Action from 1045-noon.
Panelists Include:
I do hope you’ll register for the event and join the lively discussion!! To register, click on the link in the Deeper Dive section of this story at theclimate.org/episodes.
DEEPER DIVE: Seeing Climate Change
“As a responsible investor, we must understand the carbon footprint of the portfolios we manage for our clients and work with the companies we invest in to reduce emissions,” said Fidelity International’s Global Head of Stewardship and Sustainable Investing, Jenn-Hui Tan.
But that’s not the significant news. This is: To guide this process, Fidelity will introduce proprietary Climate Ratings. Fidelity’s proprietary Climate Rating methodology draws on the expertise of in-house research analysts, sustainability specialists and more than 400 investment professionals around the world to assess companies based on their commitment to aligning their business with a net zero future.
Climate Ratings will be rolled out for all companies in Fidelity’s investment universe and integrated into all investment decisions. In the first phase, the ratings will be used to identify engagement opportunities in high-impact sectors and to set interim targets for 2025 and beyond, to ensure that all funds which promote environmental or social characteristics and those with a sustainable investment objective are aligned with a net zero trajectory by 2050.
Why does this matter to us? There is little doubt Fidelity’s Climate Ratings will impact public companies one of two ways: Fidelity will license the tool to other portfolio managers, which will accelerate the transition of companies to sustainable/net-zero practices; or in order to stay competitive, other portfolio managers will develop their own versions of Climate Ratings, which will accelerate the transition of companies to sustainable/net-zero practices.
Either way, The Climate Daily will definitely keep a keen eye out and report on Fidelity’s Climate Ratings as it is rolled out.
DEEPER DIVE: IFA Magazine, City Wire, Investment Week
