Celebrities lead TED global call to act on climate crisis

Washington

The Pope and Prince William joined activists, artists, celebrities and politicians yesterday at a free streamed TED event aimed at unifying people to confront the climate crisis.

The Countdown program kicked off on the TED channel at YouTube starting at 8 am (1500 GMT) in California and featured 50 speakers, the pontiff and the secondin-line to the British throne among them. “You’ll be hearing from all different kinds of folks from all walks of life; from the front lines to the grassroots to the treetops,” actor Mark Ruffalo, who is among the Countdown hosts, said during a briefing ahead of the event. “They’ll be talking a little bit about the problems and a lot about the solutions.” Countdown lasted about five hours, for the first time providing a free look at the blend of arts, ideas, innovation and enlightenment that are trademarks of prestigious TED conferences.