Six times protest teen Greta Thunberg was brutally honest about climate
change
by Lowenna
Waters 
UPVOTE
If you haven't heard of Greta Thunberg,
then I expect you live under a rock. Thunberg is the teen climate
change activist, who has been described as a role model for worldwide
activism.
She rose to fame for initiating
the school climate change strike that formed in November 2018, and then went
global after the COP24 conference in December the same year.
And, to top that off, Thunberg was nominated for the
Nobel Peace Prize, and she's still only 16-years-old. Puts things
into perspective, doesn't it.
Now, the flag-bearer for the
climate change protest generation has pledged her allegiance to Extinction Rebellion,
the latest climate change movement to take place in London.
Extinction Rebellion have been
demonstrating in London since Monday April 15, to encourage the UK Government
to do more about climate change.
As part of their protests,
they've planted trees, glued themselves to stationary trains, and disrupted
travel near Heathrow Airport, reports the BBC.
In honour of her untiring
commitment to action on climate change, here are some of Thunberg's most
hard-hitting speeches.
1. Speaking at the Extinction Rebellion,
Marble Arch, London.
On Sunday April 21, Greta
Thunberg joined the Extinction Rebellion protests in London, where she spoke to
a packed crowd gathered at London's Marble Arch, saying 'Keep going. You are
making a difference', and eliciting supportive cheers from those
gathered.
She didn't mince her words,
saying:
For
way too long the politicians and people in power have got away with not doing
anything at all to fight the climate crisis and ecological crisis. But we will
make sure they will not get away with it any longer.
She also said she hoped people
in attendance would follow the protestors' example:
Humanity
is now standing at a crossroads. We must now decide which path we want to take.
How do
we want the future living conditions for all living species to be like?
We
have gathered here today, and in many other places throughout London and across
the world too, we have gathered today because we have chosen which path we want
to take and now we are waiting for the others to follow our example.
2. Speech at the EU Parliament in
Strasbourg
Speaking to EU leaders at the
EU parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday 16 April, an emotional Thunberg, who
even broke into tears at points during her speech, criticised leaders for not
taking the threat posed by climate change seriously enough.
If our
house was falling apart our leaders wouldn’t go on like we do today ... if our
house was falling apart you wouldn’t hold three emergency Brexit summits and no
emergency summit regarding the breakdown of the climate and the environment.
3. World Economic Forum in Davos
In an impassioned speech
delivered to the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 25, 2019,Thunberg
told the gathered audience that 'our house is on fire' in a brutally honest
speech:
Our
house is on fire, I am here to say our house is on fire. According to the IPCC
we are less than 12 years away from not being able to undo our mistakes.
In
that time unprecedented changes in all aspects of society needs to have taken
place including a reduction of our co2 emissions by at least 50% and please
note that those numbers do not include the aspect of equity which is absolutely
necessary to make the Paris agreement work on a global scale.
Nor
does it include tipping points or feedback loops like the extreme powerful
methane gas being released from the thawing Arctic permafrost.
4. Speech at TEDX Stockholm
Thunberg addressed the TEDX Stockholm audience in
2018, focusing on the fact that she learned at a young age that
there was a lapse in what climate change activists were saying, and in the
actions being taken by people in society.
In the address, she didn't hold
back, imploring people for 'action' not just 'hope':
So
instead of looking for hope, look for action. Then, and only then hope will
come.
Today
we use 100 million barrels of oil every single day. There are no politics to
change that. There are no rules to keep that oil in the ground. So we can't
save the world by playing by the rules. Because the rules have to be
changed.
Everything
needs to change. And it has to start today.
5. Speech to politicians in Brussels at the
European Commission
On Thursday 21 February, Thunberg
addressed officials in Brussels at the European Commission,
where she marched with other school children as part of the climate change
strikes that had been ongoing since December.
In a characteristically
no-holds-barred speech, she told adults that they can't just 'sit around', and
that they're acting like 'spoiled irresponsible children'.
Go, Greta:
You
can’t just sit around waiting for hope to come. Then you are acting like
spoiled irresponsible children.
You
don’t seem to understand that hope is something that you have to earn.
And if
you still say that we are wasting valuable lesson time, then let me remind you
that our political leaders have wasted decades through denial and inaction. And
since our time is running out we have started taking action.
We
have started cleaning up your mess and we won’t stop until we are done. Thank
you.
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