6 Takeaways From Day 2 Of Ted Countdown Summit 2025

Who says climate talks can’t come with a plot twist? Day 2 of TED Countdown Summit 2025 flipped the script on what we think of as the drivers of climate progress. It’s not just solar panels and policy — it’s in the flow of money, trust and imagination. Informal economies are bursting with potential. Even refrigeration and rewilding got their spotlight as unsung heroes of resilience. The common thread? Climate action works best when it works for people. Here’s what stood out from day 2:

Capitalism, but make it work for everyone. Entrepreneur Anuj Tanna sees Africa’s informal economies not as something broken but as something brilliant — a space of creativity, community and grit. He dives into how identity, trust and peer-based learning are transforming side hustles into scalable enterprises, and why empowering this movement may be the most sustainable path forward. This thinking led him to build MESH: a platform designed to boost visibility, share skills and grow networks. His call? Stop trying to fix the informal economy. Unlock it instead. Sustainability investor Steve Howard flips the lens to capitalism itself, asking whether the same tools that helped break the planet might also help save it. With bold policy and long-term thinking, even profit-driven systems can scale climate solutions fast — if we dare to change the rules.

When profits protect the planet. We often think solving climate change means deploying new tools and training. But what if the real breakthrough starts with something far more basic: a steady paycheck? Agribusiness groundbreaker Yi Li shares how financial sustainability — not just climate solutions — is the key to long-term agricultural impact. When farmers thrive financially, she says, the climate benefits follow. Climate equity entrepreneur Sandeep Roy Choudhury highlights carbon credits as an imperfect but powerful financial tool to make solutions a reality, especially in vulnerable communities already facing the worst effects of climate change. From mangrove restoration to clean cooking initiatives that cut emissions, these projects build resilience and create jobs.

De-risking the energy transition. Renewable energy pioneer Sebastián Kind helped transform Argentina into a global model for clean energy growth — despite economic crises and skepticism — by building political trust and protecting investors. Now, through his nonprofit RELP, he’s helping other countries follow the same path. What about the uncertainties no one can control? Enter climate risk advisor Amy Barnes, who reframes climate risk insurance as a warning bell. She explains why protecting lives, infrastructure and investments means getting ahead of disasters, not just reacting to them. Barnes underscores investing in resilience, both through adaptation and smarter tools, before those safety nets disappear entirely.

Electricity is empowerment. From enduring climate shocks to preserving medicine, the infrastructure we build today will shape who thrives tomorrow. Impact investor Jacqueline Novogratz shows how electrifying the hardest-to-reach places on Earth is more than a climate solution — it’s a moral test of our courage and imagination, one we can pass by mobilizing the right kind of capital. Electricity powers a lot, including your refrigerator, which is connected to an entire network of thermal control called the “cold chain.” Writer and researcher Nicola Twilley urges us to recognize the hidden force of the refrigeration systems quietly sustaining our food, health and supply networks — quite literally, the cold that keeps life going.

We can’t fight climate change with one-size-fits-all solutions. Policy expert Harjeet Singh argues that development must mean adaptation, tailoring responses to fit local realities, not global ideals. From Indian farmers braving deadly heat waves with solar-powered pumps to floating farms in flood-prone Bangladesh, real solutions are already saving lives and livelihoods. But adaptation can’t happen in isolation; it requires development, resources and justice. Climate tech leader Hao Xu turns our attention to accelerating innovation. As vice president of sustainable social value at Tencent, he explains that we already have the science to turn CO₂ into fuel, plastic, even jet fuel. The challenge now is scaling both engineering and business. Xu makes the case for making low-carbon businesses profitable and accelerate climate action through bold, tech-driven solutions.

Conservation, everywhere and anywhere. Leading Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab, AI visionary Juan M. Lavista Ferres introduces SPARROW: Solar-Powered Acoustic and Remote Recording Observation Watch. This simple yet powerful open-source technology transforms how conservationists collect, transmit and analyze biodiversity data, turning months of delay into real-time insights critical for saving species and ecosystems now. Environmentalist Isabella Tree shows that rewilding isn’t reserved for grand parks; it can begin in your own garden. She shares how letting animals roam free on her farmland brought the land back to life — reviving ecosystems, boosting biodiversity and even capturing carbon, all in just a few years. Tree leaves us with some practical tips for rewilding at home: disturb the Earth, mimic animal behavior, welcome wetlands and leave dead things be — encouraging us all to let green spaces grow wild.