You're listening to TED Talks Daily. I'm Elise Hu. Our lives depend on curbing climate change,

but so many imperatives seem to be in competition. What is the most urgent thing we can do right now?

Strategist and social entrepreneur James Mwangi makes the case for what he thinks is the answer

in his talk from TED Countdown, New York session, 2022.

Welcome to the Gates of Hell.

Now, depending on your frame of mind, that is either a bizarrely morbid or entirely appropriate way to start a talk about climate action in the year 2022.

Hell's Gate National Park in the town of Naivasha, in the Great Riftia, in my home country, Kenya.

Now, its name may not scream tourist trap,

but believe me, it is a beautiful part of the world,

and you should all try and visit sometime.

But more importantly, it could play,

it has the potential to play a crucial role

in the fight against global climate

catastrophe. The IPCC, the most recent IPCC reports are clear. Humanity has left

cutting emissions too late. Any realistic path to avoiding unacceptable levels of warming

now requires us to not only drastically cut emissions,

at least halving them by 2030,

but also undertake an equally massive effort

to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere at an accelerating rate.

Now, let's be clear.

Greenhouse gas removal is not and cannot be an excuse for continuing to emit.

Just as installing seatbelts and airbags is not an excuse for deliberately ramming your car

...