Ted Turner: The Man Who Helped Us Dare to Begin

Ted Turner passed away on 6 May 2026.

For many people, he will be remembered as the founder of CNN, a pioneering entrepreneur, or one of the most significant philanthropists of his generation. All of that is true.

For those of us at the World Climate Foundation, his passing is also personal.

Ted Turner was there at the beginning.

Cancun, 2010: It’s all up to the people

At a time when the idea of building a global platform that could bring together business, finance, government and civil society around climate action was still largely untested, he believed it was worth trying. His support helped make the first World Climate Summit possible in Cancún in 2010 and, in doing so, helped lay the foundations for what would become the World Climate Foundation. 

More than anything, Ted Turner believed that the people capable of solving the world's biggest challenges were often already in the room. The task was not to wait for someone else to act, but to bring together those with the influence, resources and determination to move first.

That conviction was on full display at the inaugural World Climate Summit in Cancún. Speaking to a room filled with business leaders, policymakers and investors, he remarked:

"If it was all up to the people in this room, it would have already been solved."

It was a characteristically simple observation, but it carried a challenge that remains as relevant today as it was then. The responsibility for progress belongs not to someone else, but to all of us.

That belief became part of the DNA of our organisation and continues to shape the way we work today.

Paris, 2015: A recognition, and a howl

In Paris in 2015, Sir Richard Branson presented Ted Turner with the World Climate Summit Lifetime Achievement Award alongside Connie Hedegaard.

Turner accepted it in a way only he could.

Having spent years restoring wildlife on his Montana ranch, including the reintroduction of wolves, he had become fascinated by what their return represented: not simply conservation, but the restoration of something that had been lost.

So rather than deliver a conventional acceptance speech, he invited the audience to howl.

And they did.

For a moment, a room full of ministers, chief executives, investors and diplomats set aside titles and protocol and joined in.

It was unconventional, slightly absurd, and entirely Ted Turner.

Onwards: What we learned from Ted Turner

Looking back, what stands out is not a single speech, donation or initiative. It is a way of thinking.

Ted refused to accept that complex problems could be solved by any one institution, sector or ideology. He was comfortable working across boundaries that others treated as fixed: between business and philanthropy, markets and public purpose, ambition and pragmatism. 

The World Climate Foundation was built on much the same premise: that progress happens when unlikely partners choose to work together. That idea continues to guide the way we think and act.

From Our CEO

Personally, what I remember most about Ted was not his achievements, impressive as they were. It was his ability to make ambitious ideas feel achievable. He had a rare combination of conviction, curiosity and humour. You could leave a conversation with him feeling that the challenge ahead was just as large as before, but somehow more possible.

With time, I have come to realise that what he offered people was not certainty. It was confidence: confidence that difficult problems could be tackled if the right people were willing to work together. That mattered in those early years, and it remains just as valuable today.

Turner once said:

“The world is facing some tough obstacles, but I’ve never found much use in giving up. It’s much more effective to get to work.” 

He spent his life refusing to believe that difficult problems were someone else's responsibility. That remains a challenge worth accepting. 

We are grateful for his friendship, his encouragement, and the example he leaves behind. So, onwards, and not the least upwards.