Prince William of England.

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Kirsty Wigglesworth

A maximum of personalities to highlight the actions carried out against global warming.

The Pope and Prince William will join activists, artists, celebrities and politicians from around the world this Saturday for “Countdown”, the event organized by the TED conference platform.

Last year, "Countdown" was organized in New York.

The program will begin this year at 8 a.m. California time (3 p.m. GMT) on the TED Youtube channel.

About 50 speakers are expected.

“You will hear from people from different social backgrounds;

from grassroots activists to activists, ”actor Mark Ruffalo, one of the attendees, explained during a presentation of the event.

“They will talk a little bit about the (climate related) problems, but you will hear more about the solutions,” he added.

"The climate cannot wait"

The event will indeed focus this year on actions people can take to address global warming, organizers say.

For example, the mayor of Freetown in Sierra Leone, will talk about the project his city is working on, to plant a million trees to protect the land from flooding and absorb carbon dioxide.

“Countdown” will last about five hours and will have the slogan: “The climate cannot wait,” explains Chris Anderson, president of the TED association.

“If there's one thing we need to learn from this year, it's that when scientists warn that something horrible is on the horizon, we need to pay attention,” he stresses.

The guest list also includes the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the activist Xiye Bastida, the actor Chris Hemsworth and the former US vice-president Al Gore.

Hundreds of “TEDx” mini-events are also planned around the world to encourage action at the local level.

A special year

The event comes at a time when political leaders are trying to politicize environmental issues, note the organizers, in reference to US President Donald Trump who regularly makes climate skepticism.

Drought, floods, giant fires and other natural disasters linked to climate change are ignoring political views, warns Christiana Figueres, the former UN climate official.

Global warming “is the responsibility of the human race,” she continued.

For Mark Ruffalo, those who refuse to find solutions to climate change "are the same who refuse to take into account scientific recommendations to fight against the pandemic" of coronavirus.

The organizers set themselves the goal of mobilizing governments and citizens around the world to cut CO2 emissions by half in the next decade and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. “Think of this Saturday as a general call to rekindle our efforts to face this titanic challenge, ”said Chris Anderson.

“It's a day of hope;

a warning that there is a path we must take together ”to respond to the climate emergency.

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