Ted Halstead, a man with a plan to change the world

After Ted Halstead delivered his speech at the famously liberal TED conference, its founder Chris Anderson remarked, ‘I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a conservative get a standing ovation before that.’ That is because Halstead was not a normal conservative. In a time of American polarisation, he had a genius for mobilising both sides behind a practical and achievable plan, a genius which he applied to solving climate change.

Halstead, an American campaigner who died in a hiking accident last week, is not a household name either in the US or around the world. But his legacy may be one of the more consequential of modern times, saving both capitalism and the planet. The alliance he founded includes an unlikely mix of leaders from across political divides and his ideas might just be on the cusp of changing the world.

Halstead identified a key challenge underlying globalisation, climate accords and Trumpian trade wars.