Can you hear that? That's the bell tolling outside my attic where I'm coming to you,

crouching underneath a blanket for quiet sound, which I can't seem to find. What an apt metaphor

for how we're struggling and grappling with the climate crisis. Hey, my name is Penn Badgley,

and I'm doing a little guest hosting

today. So if you want to learn how to take real lasting climate action, I want to invite you to join

Countdown, Ted's new global initiative to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis. So here's a talk

from the Countdown Global Launch event given by climate advocate and stubborn

optimists which we need more of Christiana Figueres.

To hear more of these ideas and get involved, check out countdown. ted.com and subscribe to

the Countdown podcast wherever you're listening to this.

Any reality we are given is not set in stone. It can be changed. I come from Costa Rica, a country known for our deep commitment to peace, our high level of education, and our far-sighted stewardship of nature. But it wasn't always like that. Way back in the 40s, my father, Jose Figueres-Ferre was a young farmer tilling the soil

and cultivating his vision of a country grounded in social justice and guided by the rule of law.

His vision was tested when in 1948 the government refused to accept the result of democratic

elections and brought in the military. My father could have been indifferent, but he chose to do

what was necessary to restore democracy, surviving the burning of his home and his farm. From here he launched a revolutionary

army of a few courageous men and women who against all odds defeated the government forces.

Then he disbanded his army, outlawed the national army, and redirected the military budget to establish the basis of the unique country Costa Rica is today.

From my father, I learned stubborn optimism.

The mindset that is necessary to transform the reality we're given into the reality we want.

Today, at the global level, we face a rapidly accelerating climate emergency, daunting because we have procrastinated way too long.

We now have one last chance to truly change our course.

This is the decisive decade in the history of humankind.

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