How to clean up the world's dirtiest industry | Joojin Kim

0:00Hi there, it's Adam Grant from Ted's Rethinking Podcast, and this episode is brought to you by ServiceNow. I get to spend my days studying how people think and what it actually takes to change our minds. It's work I find deeply meaningful. But even in meaningful work, there's still busy work. The admin, the repetitive processes, the invisible load that pulls attention away from what really matters. That's where ServiceNow's AI specialists come in. They don't just tell you what you should do about your busy work. They actually do it. Start to finish. Cases closed. Requests handled. No extra work for you.

0:33To learn how to put AI to work for people, visit servicenow.com.

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2:47Look around whatever space you're in right now, your office, your apartment, your car. You may not realize this, but a lot of the objects you see in your general surroundings were probably at one point on a boat. Maritime shipping is a mainstay of the global economy, and it's also a huge contributor to the climate crisis. These ships run on fossil fuels, transport fossil fuels, and were built with fossil fuels. This worldwide issue might seem too nebulous and far-flung to tackle, but our speaker today says that this industry actually converges in one specific place, East Asia. And there's an audacious plan to clean it up.

3:33I'm Madhupa Akinola. This is TED Business, a podcast from TED. Climate strategist Joo Jin Kim spent years successfully convincing banks to stop investing in coal. And he's bringing that winning strategy to his next fight, maritime shipping. His talk is all about smart solutions to urgent problems. And there's a big lesson here about how to translate past wins into future goals. Then, after the talk, I'll discuss what it looks like to keep building momentum in your work to catalyze real, impactful change. But first, a quick break. This episode is brought to you by Paka. When the temperature drops, there's one thing I always reach for, my Paka hoodie.

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5:20Hi there, it's Adam Grant from Ted's Rethinking Podcast, and this episode is brought to you by ServiceNow. I get to spend my days studying how people think and what it actually takes to change our minds. It's work I find deeply meaningful. But even in meaningful work, there's still busy work. The admin, the repetitive processes, the invisible load that pulls attention away from what really matters. That's where ServiceNow's AI specialists come in. They don't just tell you what you should do about your busy work. They actually do it. Start to finish. Cases closed. Requests handled. No extra work for you.

5:53To learn how to put AI to work for people, visit servicenow.com.

6:03And now, Jujin Kim takes the TED stage. For those of us who are worried about climate change, it's no doubt challenging times. It feels like the end of the light of the tunnel gets further as companies and governments pull back. And I get it. It's hard to feel motivated with headlines like these. But that is not the full story. In reality, a shift towards a climate solution-based economy is already underway. Not just because it protects the climate, but because it's becoming more profitable, more practical, and more affordable. Despite all the setbacks, we will solve this problem. However, we have to be strategic.

6:56We cannot solve every climate problem at once. We have to identify the systems that can unlock many others, the places where one smart move can create ripple effects across the entire economy. One of the most strategic, most powerful, but also most overlooked of those systems is shipping. If shipping was a country, it would be the sixth largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world. Many of these ships aren't just powered by fossil fuels. They're built with fossil fuels, and they transport fossil fuels. Maritime shipping is a climate problem on three fronts. Three. One, for the cargo it carries.

7:40Crude oil and gas account for roughly one-third of maritime trade. Around half of natural gas is shipped in a liquefied form called LNG. An LNG trade has doubled during the past decade. Two, because of the fuel, ships burn. Most ships still burn heavy fuel oils, or increasingly LNG, which releases carbon dioxide and methane, a dirty super pollutant that accelerates climate change and air pollution. Three, because of the steel ships are made of. Most steel is made using dirty coal. Steel production is responsible for another 8 % of global emissions. So shipping is not a side issue in the climate crisis.

8:22It is one of the biggest hidden levers in the entire climate fight. A system, if pulled the right way, which can unlock a faster energy transition. It's tempting to think of oceans as diffused and decentralized. But when it comes to ships, their supply chains converge in one place. East Asia. South Korea in particular dominates global shipbuilding, steel production for ships, and the public finance behind them. And we are now at a critical moment with Asia as a key leverage point. The world has experienced how volatile fossil fuels are with the war in Ukraine. Again, we are experiencing the same with the war in the Middle East.

9:08Right now, East Asian economies are making a decision. Do we keep funding fossil fuels or pivot towards offshore wind insulation vessels, green ammonia tankers, or ships made with clean steel? Because clean options don't scale just because they exist. They scale when policy, finance, and regulation align to make clean attractive. My organization, Solutions for Our Climate, works to do just that. And we're no beginner here. We've done it before with coal. From behind-the-scenes international negotiations to grassroots communities, from courtrooms to hilarious videos portraying dismal climate facts, we know what message to put in front of who, how, and when.

9:51Our work actually contributed to ending coal financing by the East Asian coal giants.

10:00And now, we're ready to take on shipping the same way. First, we expose emissions, policy gaps, financial risks. Take LNG transportation. Global LNG trade depends entirely on ships. Each LNG carrier ship costs$250 million, takes three years to build, and locks in decades of emissions. The system is surprisingly concentrated. 70 % of these ships are built in one country, one country, South Korea. In 2022 alone, in one year, South Korean government banks provided more than$10 billion of financing for these ships. The technology around these ships are monopolized by a handful of companies. So this isn't just a business story.

10:51It's a political and financial choke point. Second, we redirect capital and governments away from fossil expansion. If we cut the financing of these ships, we will limit LNG expansion. Our aim is simple. Make LNG a no-investment zone.

11:14We're asking private banks to end the financing of these ships. We're pushing Asian lenders to adopt exclusion policies. Third, we build markets, demands, and rules for clean alternatives. The technology for clean steel or green shipping fuels is already here. What's missing is the supply chains and demand to meet it. Our push for finance, regulations, and infrastructure will change this. That means building clean fuel supply chains, creating new demand through green shipping corridors between ports. Over time, renewable-rich regions will replace oil refineries as shipping fuel production hubs.

11:55We apply the same approach for clean steel. Green hydrogen will replace the role coal served in steelmaking. This isn't just aspirational. The work is already underway. We've already convinced four European banks to exit from a major LNG project in Mozambique. We've blocked new coal-based steel investments. We've secured financial support for hydrogen-based steel mills. We're doing the work and building the momentum. And now we will supercharge it through Navigate to Clean, a new initiative to clean up maritime shipping. With the generous support of the community of audacious donors, We will turn shipping from a conduit of dirty trade to a driver of clean trade.

12:47We are a team of marketers, diplomats, lawyers, shipping experts. We're a regional organization with global reach. We know the system and how to move it. We've done it with coal, and we can do it with shipping. It is difficult times, yes. But with the right strategy and leverage, we can eliminate up to 2.2 gigatons of emissions per year by 2032. That's almost one year of emissions of the entire European Union.

13:23This is not a marginal fix. This is not tinkering at the edges. This is what it looks like to move a hidden engine of the global economy and the climate movement with it. We're playing chess, not checkers, and we're here to win. Thank you.

14:04away from what really matters. That's where ServiceNow's AI specialists come in. They don't just tell you what you should do about your busy work. They actually do it. Start to finish, cases closed, requests handled, no extra work for you. To learn how to put AI to work for people, visit servicenow.com.

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15:30That was Jujun Kim talking at TED 2026. Like Jujun says, it's amazing to see a regional organization have such a global reach. But more important is witnessing his commitment to this fight. He's taking what he learned from his years of combating the coal industry and applying that same knowledge and fortitude to a whole new sector, maritime shipping. These battles might seem impossible, but there is real knowledge and even more than that, wins that are being accrued over time. And all of those build on one another to help shift our markets towards a greener, more sustainable future. So let's learn from Jujun's experience.

16:12Think of a big win you recently had or that happened a while ago. What was it? And is it time to build on it? What did you learn from that particular experience that you can bring with you and share with somebody else? Because sometimes it's not only about you building on your own win, but also sharing it with others so that they too can feed off the momentum and acquired wisdom of your achievement. And we especially need this collective momentum as we deal with the numerous challenges associated with the climate crisis. So keep sharing your wins. They help the rest of us, and they can even help the planet.

16:53That's it for today. TED Business is part of the TED Audio Collective. This episode was produced by Hannah Kingsley-Ma, edited by Alejandra Salazar, and fact-checked by Julia Dickerson. Special thanks to Maria Ladias, Farah DeGrange, Daniela Ballarezzo, Tansika Sangmanivang, and Roxanne Heilash. I'm Madhupa Akinola. Thanks for listening.

17:43attention away from what really matters. That's where ServiceNow's AI specialists come in. They don't just tell you what you should do about your busy work. They actually do it. Start to finish. Cases closed. Requests handled. No extra work for you. To learn how to put AI to work for people, visit servicenow.com. Investing with Schwab is like spending a Saturday at a great farmer's market. You can fill your reusable tote with a bit of everything. Maybe you go for some free-range, self-directed investing. Or perhaps you pick up a few farm-fresh trades while you peruse. You can even get help from a dedicated advisor.

18:18That's full-service wealth management. Mix, match, and change your mind whenever you want. Because at Schwab, you can invest your way. No matter your goals or appetite for investing, Schwab has everything you need, all in one place. Visit schwab.com to learn more.

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