A cheat sheet for accelerating clean energy | Kimiko Hirata

0:03You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hume. What does it take to turn a quiet, almost invisible problem into a movement that can change a country? Out of 50 proposed core projects, 17, totaling 9 gigawatt, were canceled.

0:27These cancellation prevented 50 million tons of CO2 per year and 1.7 billion tons over their lifetimes. That's equivalent to taking more than 8 million cars off the road every year for 40 years. That's climate champion Kimiko Hirata, who's been at the forefront of climate action in Japan for decades. In her talk, she shares how a moment of national upheaval revealed a surge of coal projects hiding in plain sight, and how she was able to shut down a bunch of them before they even opened. But stopping something is one thing. Convincing people to believe in a different future is another. We visited communities where projects are located and spoke with people.

1:13But on many occasions, people didn't care much about the climate and new coal projects. people cared more about their daily issues. So we talked not only about climate change, but also about economic and financial risks and health impact from air pollutions. She shares key steps she's learned for doing just this so we can turn no into a strong, powerful yes. That's coming up right after a short break.

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4:30And now, our TED Talk of the day. I've been working on the climate issue for almost 30 years. For most of that time, I worked with a Japanese climate organization called Kiko Network. Of course, it's been filled with ups and downs. But today, I'd like to share some of the moments when we succeeded. One turning point came after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. All of Japan's nuclear reactors shut down all of a sudden, and the country's energy system stood at a critical crossroads. While people are awaking to nuclear risks, attention to climate change faded in return. Then soon after, new plans to develop coal-fired power plants began to surge.

5:22the number went up to 10, 20 and 50. That was a really scary trend considering the long-term CO2 emissions impact. At that time, I was focusing on the UN climate negotiations and national climate policy, but I turned my focus to work on coal. Why coal? Even people close to me asked this question. Despite the fact that more than 150 units of coal fire power plants are in operation in Japan, that fact was just unknown and invisible to people, kind of like CO2. So we started to create a nationwide map to track every coal project and made it public. Also, we visited communities where projects are located and spoke with people.

6:17But on many occasions, people didn't care much about the climate and new co-projects. People cared more about their daily issues, such as jobs, income or childcare. So we talked not only about climate change, but also about economic and financial risks and health impact from air pollutions. Everything I tried was new to me. So I reached out to experts, lawyers, professors and NGOs, both in Japan and abroad. I didn't hesitate to ask for help. And eventually, we developed networks. With a combination of citizens' engagement, data tracking, strategic communication, gradually, people started to act.

7:11In 2020, I took another action. We submitted a shareholder proposal to Mizuho, one of Japan's largest banks and the biggest co-financeer globally at that time. We asked the company to disclose its business plan aligned with the Paris Agreement. That means there's no room to finance new coal. In Western countries, shareholder activism on climate had already gained momentum, But in Japan, it was very first of its kind. I spent months studying best practices overseas. I still remember the conversation I had with my friend in Australia on the day before the shareholder meeting. He said, you will probably get 17 percent support, so I'm betting.

8:04And I said, oh no, if you get 10 percent, that will already be a miracle. To my surprise, the proposal received 34 percent support from shareholders, including large institutional investors. That became quite big news across the country. As a result of those multiple works, out of 50 proposed core projects, 17, totaling 9 gigawatt, were canceled.

8:40These cancellations prevented 50 million tons of CO2 per year and 1.7 billion tons over their lifetimes. That's equivalent to taking more than 8 million cars off the road every year for 40 years.

9:00Of course, the success wasn't ours alone. Many people took action, too. But many canceled projects overlapped with regions where we worked intensively. I can tell that our collaborative efforts worked. Civil society in Japan is often considered small and powerless. But even as a small group, what seems impossible is not necessarily impossible. That's what I learned. But this is not the end of my journey. stopping one-third of a new core project is just one step. We still heavily depend on fossil fuels in Japan. The real challenge for us now is to transform our entire economy away from fossil fuels.

9:51That means saying no isn't enough. We need to build positive, strong yes for systemic change. But we still face various arguments, such as renewable energy is expensive, it's not reliable. Those are very live discussions still in Japan. And some people in Japan oppose renewable energy because of concern about local environmental damage. In addition, many people prioritize other issues than climate. And people are busy, too. We need to remove all of these barriers. So I took another step. I founded Independent Think Tank, Climate Integrate, to provide fact-based information that can accelerate energy transition.

10:43Moving beyond just saying no, I sit down and talk with people with different views in the government and companies and then try to build conviction in people to say yes for renewable energy. We started by conducting a comprehensive analysis, uniquely applied to the Japanese context. And with that, we are more confident that it is definitely possible to shift our energy system to renewables with abundant potential of solar and wind. Having that clear vision, we show the facts and convey the facts. We also started to collaborate with cities, starting from three. Toyooka City, in the western area, is known for its onsen hot springs and ski resort.

11:36It is already experiencing climate change, such as reduced snowfall or extreme heat. The city has now challenged itself to become a model of sustainable tourism by incorporating nature-positive approach and decarbonization. Ichikawa City, near Tokyo, is an area of high population density with a lot of residential buildings. City now promotes installing rooftop solar and improving energy efficiency for its housing, particularly targeting young families. Sakata City, located in the north, is an area that has old coal-fired power plants, but it is also a very good location for offshore wind. City aims to revitalize its economy through offshore-related business and achieve a just transition away from fossil fuels and coal power.

12:36I don't yet know if these efforts will get us to our vision, but even though I changed my approach from no to yes, What I do for renewable energy is actually very similar to what I did for my co-work. I meet people, enhance dialogue and develop networks. From my experiences, I can tell that change happens when people are engaged with facts and stories. Now my vision is to help Japan to promote renewable energy up to 90 percent or more and achieve food decarbonization and extend the impact across Asia. I know it is very challenging, but I also know that I'm not alone. I have an incredible team and network of experts, advocates and believers.

13:32We are all united by a shared conviction that this work must be done. So I am always hopeful, even living in a country where change seems difficult. So my journey continues. I continue seeking my own ways. Likewise, you can also find your own ways. And I truly believe that together, we can change the world from no to yes. So I hope you will join me on this journey forward. Thank you.

14:13That was Kimiko Hirata at the TED Countdown Summit in Nairobi, Kenya in 2025. If you're curious about TED's curation, find out more at ted.com slash curation guidelines. And that's it for today. TED Talks Daily is part of the TED Audio Collective. This talk was fact-checked by the TED Research Team and produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Green, Lucy Little, and Tonsika Sungmarnivong. This episode was mixed by Christopher Fazey Bogan. Additional support from Emma Taubner and Daniela Balareso. I'm Elise Hu. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed.

14:50Thanks for listening.

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