WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT? How do you convince a room full of influential people to care about climate change… in 6 minutes? 🎤
Nov 7, 2025
An acceptance speech for the TIME Earth Award highlights the urgency of climate action. The speaker urges a focus on strategic solutions rather than misplaced hope, naming fossil fuels as the main culprit behind the crisis. They spotlight existing remedies like clean energy and sustainable food, while emphasizing the power of cultural change in shaping policy. Encouraging everyone to voice their concerns, the speech connects climate to health and personal interests. A rallying cry for collective engagement wraps up this passionate appeal for immediate action.
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Award Moment In A Room Of Influencers
- Ayana Elizabeth Johnson described receiving the TIME Earth Award at the TIME100 Next gala and the influential people in the room.
- She framed the speech as an opportunity to recruit culture-shaping leaders to act on climate solutions.
Swap Hope For Strategy
- Ayana tells the audience to stop relying on hope and instead ask, "What's the strategy?".
- She emphasizes we already have existing solutions and must move much faster to implement them.
Solutions Exist Now
- Ayana highlights that the solutions to climate change already exist today across energy, ecosystems, food, buildings, and transit.
- She notes there's no magical future tech to wait for; delay only makes the problem harder and costlier.
