ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Chad Frischmann - Systems strategist, coalition-builder
Chad Frischmann is working to get humanity to "drawdown," the point in time when the concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases begins to decline on a year-to-year basis.

Why you should listen

Chad Frischmann developed the methodology and models underpinning the New York Times best-seller Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming (Penguin, 2017). Drawdown was the number one best-selling environmental book of 2017 and is currently being translated into more than ten languages. In collaboration with a global team of researchers, Frischmann designed integrated global models to assess the world's most effective climate solutions and determine if, when and how the world can reach "drawdown," the point in time when the concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases begins to decline on a year-to-year basis.

With an interdisciplinary background in public policy, human rights, sustainable development, and environmental conservation, Frischmann works as a systems strategist to build a new, regenerative future with cascading benefits to the environment and to human well-being. As head of research and technology since Project Drawdown's inception, he is a key spokesperson and coalition-builder dedicated to sharing the message and model of Drawdown with the world.

Frischmann provides a systems-based, action-orientated approach to research and strategic leadership. Previously, as the Senior Program Officer at The Europaeum, an association of leading European universities, Frischmann worked to further international collaboration through academic mobility and exchange between students, researchers and those working in the public and private sectors. He taught at the University of Oxford and the University of California at Berkeley and worked as a consultant and researcher for numerous organizations, from small grassroots non-profits to international agencies such as UNESCO and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

More profile about the speaker
Chad Frischmann | Speaker | TED.com
We the Future

Chad Frischmann: 100 solutions to reverse global warming

Filmed:
2,009,406 views

What if we took out more greenhouse gases than we put into the atmosphere? This hypothetical scenario, known as "drawdown," is our only hope of averting climate disaster, says strategist Chad Frischmann. In a forward-thinking talk, he shares solutions to climate change that exist today -- conventional tactics like the use of renewable energy and better land management as well as some lesser-known approaches, like changes to food production, better family planning and the education of girls. Learn more about how we can reverse global warming and create a world where regeneration, not destruction, is the rule.
- Systems strategist, coalition-builder
Chad Frischmann is working to get humanity to "drawdown," the point in time when the concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases begins to decline on a year-to-year basis. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
Hello.
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I'd like to introduce you to a word
you may never have heard before,
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but you ought to know:
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drawdown.
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Drawdown is a new way of thinking about
and acting on global warming.
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It's a goal for a future that we want,
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a future where reversing
global warming is possible.
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Drawdown is that point in time
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when atmospheric concentrations
of greenhouse gases begin to decline
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on a year-to-year basis.
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More simply, it's that point
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when we take out more greenhouse gases
than we put into Earth's atmosphere.
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Now, I know we're all concerned
about climate change,
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but climate change is not the problem.
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Climate change is
the expression of the problem.
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It's the feedback of the system
of the planet telling us what's going on.
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The problem is global warming,
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provoked by the increasing
concentrations of greenhouse gases
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caused by human activity.
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So how do we solve the problem?
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How do we begin the process
of reversing global warming?
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The only way we know how is to draw down,
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to avoid putting greenhouse gases up
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and to pull down what's already there.
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I know.
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Given the current situation,
it sounds impossible,
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but humanity already knows what to do.
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We have real, workable
technologies and practices
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that can achieve drawdown.
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And it's already happening.
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What we need is
to accelerate implementation
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and to change the discourse
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from one of fear and confusion,
which only leads to apathy,
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to one of understanding and possibility,
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and, therefore, opportunity.
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I work for an organization
called Project Drawdown.
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And for the last four years,
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together with a team of researchers
and writers from all over the world,
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we have mapped, measured and detailed
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100 solutions to reversing global warming.
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Eighty already exist today,
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and when taken together,
those 80 can achieve drawdown.
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And 20 are coming attractions,
solutions on the pipeline,
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and when they come online,
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will speed up our progress.
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These are solutions
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that are viable, scalable
and financially feasible.
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And they do one or more of three things:
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replace existing fossil fuel-based energy
generation with clean, renewable sources;
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reduce consumption
through technological efficiency
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and behavior change;
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and to biosequester carbon
in our plants' biomass and soil
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through a process
we all learn in grade school,
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the magic of photosynthesis.
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It's through a combination
of these three mechanisms
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that drawdown becomes possible.
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So how do we get there?
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Well, here's the short answer.
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This is a list of the top 20 solutions
to reversing global warming.
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Now, I'll go into some detail,
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but take a few seconds
to look over the list.
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It's eclectic, I know,
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from onshore wind turbines
to educating girls,
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from plant-rich diets
to rooftop solar technology.
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So let's break it down a little bit.
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To the right of the slide,
you'll see figures in gigatons,
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or billions of tons.
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That represents the total
equivalent carbon dioxide
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reduced from the atmosphere
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when the solution is implemented
globally over a 30-year period.
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Now, when we think
about climate solutions,
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we often think about
electricity generation.
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We think of renewable energy
as the most important set of solutions,
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and they are incredibly important.
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But the first thing
to notice about this list
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is that only five of the top 20 solutions
relate to electricity.
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What surprised us, honestly,
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was that eight of the top 20
relate to the food system.
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The climate impact of food
may come as a surprise to many people,
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but what these results show
is that the decisions we make every day
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about the food we produce,
purchase and consume
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are perhaps the most
important contributions
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every individual can make
to reversing global warming.
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And how we manage land
is also very important.
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Protecting forests and wetlands
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safeguards, expands
and creates new carbon sinks
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that directly draw down carbon.
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This is how drawdown can happen.
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And when we take food
and land management together,
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12 of the top 20 solutions
relate to how and why we use land.
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This fundamentally shifts
traditional thinking on climate solutions.
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But let's go to the top of the list,
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because I think what's there
may also surprise you.
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The single most impactful solution,
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according to this analysis,
would be refrigeration management,
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or properly managing and disposing of
hydrofluorocarbons, also known as HFCs,
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which are used by refrigerators
and air conditioners to cool the air.
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We did a great job
with the Montreal Protocol
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to limit the production
of chlorofluorocarbons, CFCs,
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because of their effect
on the ozone layer.
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But they were replaced by HFCs,
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which are hundreds to thousands of times
more potent a greenhouse gas
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than carbon dioxide.
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And that 90 gigatons reduced
is a conservative figure.
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If we were to account for the impact
of the Kigali agreement of 2016,
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which calls for the phaseout
of hydrofluorocarbons
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and replace them with
natural refrigerants, which exist today,
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this number could increase to 120,
to nearly 200 gigatons
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of avoided greenhouse gases.
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Maybe you're surprised, as we were.
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Now, before going into some details
of specific solutions,
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you may be wondering
how we came to these calculations.
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Well, first of all,
we collected a lot of data,
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and we used statistical analysis
to create ranges
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that allow us to choose reasonable choices
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for every input used
throughout the models.
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And we chose a conservative approach,
which underlies the entire project.
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All that data is entered in the model,
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ambitiously but plausibly
projected into the future,
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and compared against
what we would have to do anyway.
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The 84 gigatons reduced
from onshore wind turbines, for example,
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results from the electricity
generated from wind farms
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that would otherwise be produced
from coal or gas-fired plants.
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We calculate all the costs
to build and to operate the plants
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and all the emissions generated.
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The same process is used
to compare recycling versus landfilling,
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regenerative versus
industrial agriculture,
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protecting versus
cutting down our forests.
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The results are then integrated
within and across systems
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to avoid double-counting
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and add it up to see
if we actually get to drawdown.
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OK, let's go into some specific solutions.
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Rooftop solar comes in ranked number 10.
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When we picture rooftop solar in our minds
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we often envision a warehouse in Miami
covered in solar panels.
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But these are solutions that are relevant
in urban and rural settings,
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high and low-income countries,
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and they have cascading benefits.
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This is a family
on a straw island in Lake Titicaca
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receiving their first solar panel.
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Before, kerosene was used
for cooking and lighting,
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kerosene on a straw island.
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So by installing solar, this family
is not only helping to reduce emissions,
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but providing safety
and security for their household.
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And tropical forests tell their own story.
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Protecting currently degraded
land in the tropics
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and allowing natural regeneration to occur
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is the number five solution
to reversing global warming.
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We can think of trees
as giant sticks of carbon.
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This is drawdown in action every year,
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as carbon is removed from
the atmosphere through photosynthesis,
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which converts carbon dioxide to plants'
biomass and soil organic carbon.
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And we need to rethink
how we produce our food
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to make it more regenerative.
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There are many ways to do this,
and we researched over 13 of them,
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but these aren't new ways
of producing food.
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They have been practiced
for centuries, for generations.
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But they are increasingly displaced
by modern agriculture,
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which promotes tillage, monocropping
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and the use of synthetic fertilizers
and pesticides which degrade the land
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and turn it into a net emitter
of greenhouse gases.
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Regenerative agriculture,
on the other hand,
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restores soil health and productivity,
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increases yield,
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improves water retention,
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benefits smallholder farmers
and large farming operations alike
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and brings carbon back to the land.
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It's a win-win-win-win-win.
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(Laughter)
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And it's not just how we produce food,
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but what we consume
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that has a massive impact
on global warming.
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A plant-rich diet is not
a vegan or a vegetarian diet,
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though I applaud any
who make those choices.
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It's a healthy diet
in terms of how much we consume,
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and particularly
how much meat is consumed.
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In the richer parts of the world,
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we overconsume.
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However, low-income countries
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show an insufficient
caloric and protein intake.
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That needs rebalancing,
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and it's in the rebalancing
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that a plant-rich diet
becomes the number four solution
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to reversing global warming.
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Moreover, approximately a third
of all food produced is not eaten,
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and wasted food emits an astounding
eight percent of global greenhouse gases.
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We need to look
where across the supply chain
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these losses and wastage occurs.
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In low-income countries,
after food leaves the farm,
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most food is wasted
early in the supply chain
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due to infrastructure
and storage challenges.
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Food is not wasted by consumers
in low-income countries
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which struggle to feed their population.
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In the developed world, instead,
after food leaves the farm,
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most food is wasted
at the end of the supply chain
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by markets and consumers,
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and wasted food ends up in the landfill
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where it emits methane
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as it decomposes.
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This is a consumer choice problem.
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It's not a technology issue.
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Preventing food waste from the beginning
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is the number three solution.
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But here's the interesting thing.
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When we look at the food system as a whole
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and we implement
all the production solutions
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like regenerative agriculture,
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and we adopt a plant-rich diet,
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and we reduce food waste,
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our research shows that we would produce
enough food on current farmland
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to feed the world's growing population
a healthy, nutrient-rich diet
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now until 2050 and beyond.
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That means we don't need
to cut down forests for food production.
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The solutions to reversing global warming
are the same solutions to food insecurity.
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Now, a solution that often
does not get talked enough about,
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family planning.
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By providing men and women
the right to choose
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when, how and if to raise a family
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through reproductive
health clinics and education,
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access to contraception
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and freedom devoid of persecution
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can reduce the estimated
global population by 2050.
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That reduced population
means reduced demand
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for electricity, food, travel, buildings
and all other resources.
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All the energy and emissions
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that are used to produce
that higher demand
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is reduced by providing
the basic human right
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to choose when, how
and if to raise a family.
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But family planning cannot happen
without equal quality of education
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to girls currently being denied access.
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Now, we've taken a small liberty here,
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because the impact of universal education
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and family planning resources
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are so inextricably intertwined
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that we chose to cut it
right down the middle.
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But taken together,
educating girls and family planning
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is the number one solution
to reversing global warming,
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reducing approximately 120 billion tons
of greenhouse gases.
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So is drawdown possible?
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The answer is yes, it is possible,
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but we need all 80 solutions.
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There are no silver bullets
or a subset of solutions
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that are going to get us there.
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The top solutions would take us
far along the pathway,
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but there's no such thing
as a small solution.
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We need all 80.
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But here's the great thing.
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We would want to implement these solutions
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whether or not global warming
was even a problem,
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because they have cascading benefits
to human and planetary well-being.
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Renewable electricity results in clean,
abundant access to energy for all.
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A plant-rich diet, reduced food waste
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results in a healthy global population
with enough food and sustenance.
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Family planning and educating girls?
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This is about human rights,
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about gender equality.
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This is about economic improvement
and the freedom of choice.
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It's about justice.
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Regenerative agriculture, managed grazing,
agroforestry, silvopasture
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restores soil health, benefits farmers
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and brings carbon back to the land.
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Protecting our ecosystems
also protects biodiversity
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and safeguards planetary health
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and the oxygen that we breathe.
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Its tangible benefits
to all species are incalculable.
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But one last point, because
I know it's probably on everybody's mind;
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how much is this going to cost?
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Well, we estimate
that to implement all 80 solutions
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would cost about 29 trillion
dollars over 30 years.
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That's just about a trillion a year.
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Now, I know that sounds like a lot,
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but we have to remember that
global GDP is over 80 trillion every year,
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15:57
and the estimated savings
from implementing these solutions
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is 74 trillion dollars,
over double the costs.
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That's a net savings
of 44 trillion dollars.
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16:11
So drawdown is possible.
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We can do it if we want to.
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It's not going to cost that much,
and the return on that investment is huge.
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Here's the welcome surprise.
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When we implement these solutions,
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16:29
we shift the way we do business
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from a system that is inherently
exploitative and extractive
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to a new normal that is by nature
restorative and regenerative.
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We need to rethink our global goals,
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to move beyond sustainability
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towards regeneration,
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and along the way reverse global warming.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Chad Frischmann - Systems strategist, coalition-builder
Chad Frischmann is working to get humanity to "drawdown," the point in time when the concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases begins to decline on a year-to-year basis.

Why you should listen

Chad Frischmann developed the methodology and models underpinning the New York Times best-seller Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming (Penguin, 2017). Drawdown was the number one best-selling environmental book of 2017 and is currently being translated into more than ten languages. In collaboration with a global team of researchers, Frischmann designed integrated global models to assess the world's most effective climate solutions and determine if, when and how the world can reach "drawdown," the point in time when the concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases begins to decline on a year-to-year basis.

With an interdisciplinary background in public policy, human rights, sustainable development, and environmental conservation, Frischmann works as a systems strategist to build a new, regenerative future with cascading benefits to the environment and to human well-being. As head of research and technology since Project Drawdown's inception, he is a key spokesperson and coalition-builder dedicated to sharing the message and model of Drawdown with the world.

Frischmann provides a systems-based, action-orientated approach to research and strategic leadership. Previously, as the Senior Program Officer at The Europaeum, an association of leading European universities, Frischmann worked to further international collaboration through academic mobility and exchange between students, researchers and those working in the public and private sectors. He taught at the University of Oxford and the University of California at Berkeley and worked as a consultant and researcher for numerous organizations, from small grassroots non-profits to international agencies such as UNESCO and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

More profile about the speaker
Chad Frischmann | Speaker | TED.com