TED Talks Daily The ethical case for taking on the climate crisis | Al Gore, Wanjira Mathai & Karenna Gore (TED Countdown House)
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Dec 6, 2025 
Wanjira Mathai, a prominent Kenyan environmental leader and daughter of Wangari Maathai, joins Karenna Gore, founder of the Center for Earth Ethics, to discuss the ethical dimensions of the climate crisis. They emphasize the need for justice and Indigenous leadership in climate solutions. Wanjira highlights Africa's shift toward renewable energy and the importance of local solutions for resilience, while Karenna connects environmental justice to moral accountability. Together, they advocate for embedding ethics in climate negotiations to reshape priorities and drive meaningful change.
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Ethics Reframes Climate Negotiations
- The Global Ethical Stock Take reframes climate talks from technical metrics to moral accountability.
- It centers the most impacted people, Indigenous communities, future generations, and non-human life in decision-making.
A Reset To Center People And Justice
- Wanjira Mathai describes the stock take as a reset to recenter people and justice over technical processes.
- She stresses elevating Indigenous voices and the 'global majority' as essential for legitimate solutions.
Center For Earth Ethics' Moral Perspective
- Karenna Gore recounts the Center for Earth Ethics' role and the need to ask 'why' not just 'how' in climate work.
- She emphasizes accountability and naming fossil fuel industry participation as a problem for ethical clarity.