After the Fukushima disaster shut down Japan’s nuclear reactors, the coal industry rushed in to fill the energy gap. As climate advocate Kimiko Hirata watched dozens of new coal plant proposals quietly surface across the country — each one locking in decades of future emissions — she resolved to make them impossible to ignore. She shares how a small, scrappy civil society movement took on a fossil-fuel-dependent economy and got people to say “yes” to a renewable future. (Recorded at TED Countdown Summit 2025 on June 18, 2025)
Join us in person at a TED conference:
Become a TED Member to support our mission:
Subscribe to a TED newsletter:
Follow TED!
Instagram:
LinkedIn:
TikTok:
Facebook:
X:
The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less) — plus originals, podcasts and exclusive content. Look for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design as well as science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit for our entire library, transcripts, translations and personalized recommendations.
Watch more:
TED videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with the TED Talks Usage Policy: . For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), submit a request at
#TED #TEDTalks #ClimateChange
@onedelish
April 22, 2026 at 11:02 am
amazing
@kevinl4966
April 22, 2026 at 11:06 am
All true…………………… .
@njtek
April 22, 2026 at 11:20 am
What if you carbon capture into clean coal and burn only for emergency heat with lots of filters for more carbon capture
@j.dontmatta
April 22, 2026 at 11:21 am
What we need is a cheat sheet to defeat the leftwing green scheme stealing Billions from hard working people. Then they turn off coal and make prices skyrocket even further. Coal is not the problem.
@njtek
April 22, 2026 at 11:21 am
Japan needs heat for mountains coal energy dense need diesel hybrid caterpillar generators
@shivashakti836
April 22, 2026 at 11:23 am
One person’s voice may sound small, but when it carries truth, it can shake an entire industry. Respect to Kimiko Hirata for proving that courage can change a nation’s future.”
@jliu6735
April 22, 2026 at 11:27 am
Clearly, this lady never has to worry about her electricity bill.
@ThePsykool8
April 22, 2026 at 11:31 am
Sunlight is free
@ДмитрийДобрый-щ7к
April 22, 2026 at 12:14 pm
But sunlight isn’t always available in northern latitudes—it’s not the equator, after all. Then we still need to be able to convert electrical energy into synthesis gas, and then into aviation or automotive fuel.
@AdrianaAnca-v7g
April 22, 2026 at 2:38 pm
@ThePsykool8pffffffffff stay away from the plain sunlight 😀,love💖
@ShieldAre
April 22, 2026 at 4:03 pm
Coal is more expensive than solar and wind energy.
@Aaaaaa006
April 23, 2026 at 6:25 pm
@ДмитрийДобрый-щ7к hydroelectric, thermoelectric, geothermal, eólico energy.
@Badger_The_Wind_in_the_Willows
April 22, 2026 at 11:29 am
I suspect three out of the four comments here so far, who want more coal extraction and burning, are bots meant to sway public opinion. We are truly living in dark times. Follow the ACTUAL science and NOT what your corporate overlords demand.
@Badger_The_Wind_in_the_Willows
April 22, 2026 at 11:29 am
I suspect three out of the four comments here so far, who want more coal extraction and burning, are bots meant to sway public opinion. We are truly living in dark times. Follow the ACTUAL science and NOT do what your corporate overlords demand.
@dsdgdsfegfeg
April 22, 2026 at 12:04 pm
Total Coal burning per year in millions of tonnes
🔸🇨🇳CN 6000 Mt
🔸🇺🇸US 516 Mt
🔸🇪🇺EU 285 Mt
96% of all the new coal burning power plants being built in the entire world are being built by China.
China doesn’t care about global warming, it never has, never a reduction, always increasing coal burning
It’s now too late.
Respect to Japan and everyone else in the world that doesn’t lie.
@ShieldAre
April 22, 2026 at 4:06 pm
Those numbers are incorrect or outdated. China is installing more renewable energy than the rest of the world combined (and also a lot of nuclear energy). This is not to give a China a pass on its past emissions or the coal plants still in use. But more and more of those coal plants will soon be shut down as they have become uneconomical.
@Lucky-9527
April 22, 2026 at 9:01 pm
中国是“世界工厂”，主要承担了高耗能的中游原材料加工任务。由于全球产业链将这些高能耗环节集中在中国，对应的煤炭消耗也必然反映在中国账面上。
你不可能一边将高污染高耗能的产业转移到其他国家，另一边谴责这些国家高耗能。
@trtyuiop
April 23, 2026 at 5:45 pm
Assuming this statistic is true (likely not), this way of thinking is ignorant because the global north industrialising since the industrial revolution outputted far more Co2 than China ever will.
Even in the modern day, the US outputs more per capita than China despite being developed enough to transition from coal to clean energies entirely. And China whilst industrialising is already phasing out coal and is the largest producer of solar energy.
@LupusMobile
April 22, 2026 at 12:28 pm
Anyone who believes green/clean/renewable energy is the sole solution, has absolutely no understanding of energy. It is IMPOSSIBLE to generate enough energy for the amount of lifeforms on this planet with green energy alone.
@Aaaaaa006
April 22, 2026 at 11:42 pm
Could you explain to me why? Thank you
@LupusMobile
April 23, 2026 at 12:10 am
@Aaaaaa006 Energy systems involve geology, physics, materials science, grid architecture, economics, and policies. It’s a very vast topic which requires a deep understanding of many subjects. I respect that question, and we can definitely get into it, however, this is a topic for more than a comment section. Instead of getting someone to do the work for you, try doing some of your own research. Physics and Mathematics are two of many subjects worth learning, because energy is such an intricate and complex, but also beautiful subject.
@Aaaaaa006
April 23, 2026 at 12:19 am
@LupusMobileoh a non answer. Not surprised. We don’t believe you.
@LupusMobile
April 23, 2026 at 12:40 am
@Aaaaaa006 That is the exact response I would expect from someone who cannot think for themselves. I’m not holding your hand. I am not your teacher. You need to learn to be your own teacher, and accountable for your own learning. I’m sorry you never learned this in school. But if you can listen to propaganda all day, you can listen to university courses offered for free all over the internet, or you can read the many research papers made available, etc. Wishing you the best, mate.
@Garlicnaan08
April 22, 2026 at 2:39 pm
And above all is 🇨🇳
@cheerychinchilla
April 22, 2026 at 4:33 pm
Wonderful Ted talk! Resilient and hopeful. We should lessen our energy use and work on using green energy, even is it’s hard.
@guangyuli8181
April 22, 2026 at 5:11 pm
when you cancel the coal power plant, have you ever proposed an achievable plan to fill the gap
@jeremychoo934
April 22, 2026 at 8:59 pm
The current Iran war brings what she’s saying into sharp focus. While I support any efforts to reduce carbon emissions, including the transition away from coal as a power source, the economic reality is that due to LNG and diesel supply constraints caused by the war, many countries in Asia are either ramping up production at their coal power plants or those who have decommissioned the coal power plants are restarting production. In the short term, the transition away from coal is a luxury that many developing countries cannot afford.
@niccolom
April 22, 2026 at 9:59 pm
No world power is fighting over coal.
What really needs cancelled is oil.
@MrRoberthafetz
April 23, 2026 at 8:11 am
Renewable energy will wreck the economy because it cant meet the demand of AI and data centers. There is no climate crisis. The nation that uses fossil fuels and nuclear will take manufacturing away form the idiots who keep building green energy
@toni4729
April 23, 2026 at 8:46 am
Solar and Wind all the way. Coal kills.
@LifeSavingDefense
April 23, 2026 at 9:45 am
Look at earth’s history Before man.
The climate has changed Forever Naturally … Earth is still here… for Billions of years as it naturally filters both earth and atmosphere.
We are just insignificant ants on this world and what we do is almost meaningless.
Grow yes ,,,
Freak out about climate change which is natural… No
@trtyuiop
April 23, 2026 at 5:41 pm
okay but how does this address the global south’s inherent need to develop (which requires significant amounts of industrial processes, resource extraction and the use of fossil fuels).
A couple of already deindustrialised nations slowly transitioning to clean energy doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things when industrialing countries output more Carbon ten fold. And the global north likely won’t assist developing nations with green tech in developing more “sustainability”