“We need to get angry and understand what is at stake. And then we need to transform that anger into action to stand together united and just never give up.” – Greta Thunberg
Greta Thunberg, the 17-year-old Swedish environmental activist single-handedly mobolised an entire revolution around the world. She marched alongside the youth and asked the adults in positions of power why they weren’t paying more attention to the pressing issue of climate change.
The young firebrand spoke in Davos at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday as she reminded the world that our house is still on fire.
Greta started her speech by saying, “One year ago, I came to Davos and told you that our house is on fire. I told you I wanted you to panic. I have been warned that telling people to panic about the climate crisis is a very dangerous thing to do.”
Your inaction is fueling the flames by the hour. And we are telling you to act as if you loved your children above all else,” added the 17-year-old Swedish climate activist who last year became Time magazine’s youngest choice ever to be named ‘Person of the Year‘.
Talking to the crowd, she asked, “I wonder, what will you tell your children was the reason to fail and leave them facing the climate chaos you knowingly brought upon them?”
.@GretaThunberg tells Davos 2020: We have eight years to save the climate https://t.co/j80IqPOt2T @TIME #wef20 pic.twitter.com/LT8Sf2rUCX
— World Economic Forum (@wef) January 21, 2020
The teen climate change crusader stressed on the immediate need of adopting an alternative lifestyle, saying, “But don’t worry, it’s fine. When we children tell you to panic, we’re not telling you to go on like before. We are not telling you to rely on technologies.”
She even rebuked US President Donald Trump, adding, “Planting trees is good of course, but it is nowhere near enough of what is needed, and it cannot replace real mitigation and rewilding nature.”
Just before her speech, Donald Trump had announced that the United States of America would join an initiative to plant a trillion trees. At the time, he spoke at length about the economic importance of gas and even called climate change activists the “heirs of yesterday’s foolish fortune tellers”.
“We don’t want a change in 2050 or 2060 or 2021 … we want it to be done now. So either you do this or you will have to explain to your children why did you give up on 1.5 degree target,” Thunberg added in her address.
Watch her entire speech here:
“I wonder, what will you tell your children was the reason to fail and leave them facing the climate chaos you knowingly brought upon them?”
Here’s a clip from my speech addressing the #WorldEconomicForum in Davos today. Full speech here: https://t.co/qAJIqYXxhd#WEF2020 pic.twitter.com/8Ev3HqRY7d— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) January 21, 2020
Last year, Thunberg’s emotional speech at the UN summit had the entire world rallying with her asking decision-makers, “how dare you?”
This time at the World Economic Forum, many young “climate heroes” were celebrated including Irish teen scientist Fionn Ferreira, who created a solution for preventing microplastics from reaching oceans, 17-year-old South African climate activist Ayakha Melithafa and Canadian Autum Peltier, who has been advocating for water conservation since she was eight years old.
Climate change is a reality that we must wake up to before it’s too late. We’re lauding these young leaders who are teaching us how it’s done.
Featured Image: Unsplash, Twitter
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