The Swedish student Greta Thunberg has accused world leaders of failing her generation by not reining in carbon emissions, and stealing her childhood by uttering 鈥渆mpty words鈥� on climate change.
In a passionate and often angry address to the UN climate action summit in New York, the 16-year old said: 鈥淭his is all wrong. I shouldn鈥檛 be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you. You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.鈥�
The summit has been called by UN secretary general Ant贸nio Guterres to kickstart plans from countries to rein in their carbon emissions and meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement. Around 60 heads of state are attending the event, which comes after the world鈥檚 biggest climate change protest took place across the world last Friday.
Advertisement
Thunberg berated them: 鈥�We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is the money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you. For more than 30 years the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away.鈥�
The climate campaigner cited work by the UN climate science panel which suggests the world鈥檚 remaining 鈥榗arbon budget鈥� 鈥� what can be emitted before Earth is committed to more than 1.5掳C of warming 鈥� would be blown in eight and a half years.
Too uncomfortable
鈥淭here will not be any solutions or plans presented in line with these figures here today because these numbers are too uncomfortable. You are still not mature enough to tell it like it is. You are failing us.鈥�
She continued: 鈥淏ut the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us I say we will never forgive you.鈥�
Thunberg鈥檚 speech came after a strong attack on the fossil fuel industry by Guterres.
鈥淭here is a cost to everything. But the biggest cost is doing nothing. The biggest cost is subsidising a dying fossil fuel industry, building more and more coal power plants and denying what is plain as day that we are in a deep climate hole and to get out we must first stop digging.鈥� Ending fossil fuel subsidies has been one of the secretary general鈥檚 four key demands聽of world leaders ahead of today鈥檚 summit.
Angela Merkel told the meeting that Germany would increase its climate finance funding to developing countries from 鈧�2 billion to 鈧�4 billion. 鈥淲e all have had the wake-up call of young people,鈥� she said.
Several countries took swipes at the United States and president Donald Trump, who was at the summit for around 10 minutes but did not give a speech. French president Emmanuel Macron expressed his disappointment at the shortfall in funding the US had created for the Green Climate Fund. Wang Yi, speaking on behalf of Chinese president Xi Jinping, said 鈥渢he withdrawal of certain parties will not shake the collective will鈥� of other countries, in a veiled reference to the US.
The summit comes a day after the UN weather agency released noting 2015-2019 is on track to be the warmest five-year period on record. The report also said that under governments鈥� country carbon-cutting plans 鈥� known as the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) 鈥� the world will warm by between 2.9掳C and 3.4掳C by 2100. The UN summit is intended to galvanise political momentum for more ambitious NDCs.
