Greta Thunberg, a teen environmental activist delivered an emotional and moving speech at the UN climate change summit two weeks ago. In her speech, she accused world leaders of ‘stealing her dreams and her childhood with their empty words’ due to doing nothing about climate change.
She emphasized how the UN members care more about money and eternal economic growth instead of taking active measures to fight off mass extinctions, collapsing ecosystems, and people suffering because of climate change.
Thunberg’s Speech Goes Viral
Quavering with emotions, the young climate change activist said it’s all wrong and that she shouldn’t be here, but back in school, yet, they all come to young people for hope.
Her speech electrified the beginning of a summit for the mobilisation of the government and business to finally do something on an international level about the rising carbon emissions.
Unfortunately, they’ve reached highs last year, besides decades of scientific warnings from experts.
Inspired by her solitary weekly protest outside the Swedish parliament a year ago, millions of youngsters appeared on the streets worldwide last week and demanded governments to take the needed actions.
For French president Emmanuel Macron, who also spoke at the UN Climate Action Summit, listening to the young people who spoke before him struck him deeply. He added that he wants to listen to them and emphasized that no political leader can ignore this call for justice.
Only Concrete Measures
Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General, organized the one-day event to follow up on the 2015 Paris Agreement to fight off global warming and warned leaders to show up if they have actual plans, not empty speeches and promises.
He added that nature is angry and that people fool themselves thinking we can fool nature. Nature, as he believes, always fights back, and it’s already striking us back in fury.
He also explains that there’s a cost to everything we do and that the biggest cost is remaining stagnant.
He notes that the biggest cost is continuing the subsidising of a dying fossil fuel industry and building more coal plants and denying the thing that’s in front of us- a deep climate hole that we need to stop digging ourselves if we want to get out.
What Was Agreed on the Summit?
There were several new proposals from governments for the rapid climate change that scientists consider urgent to fight off the dangerous effects of the warming. On the summit, there were pledges from businesses, insurers, banks, and pension funds to do more.
Emmanuel Faber, chief executive of the Danone, French food group, claims that we’ve broken the cycle of life.
He announced an initiative called One Planet with other 19 major food companies to switch to sustainable farming methods. He said that they need the support to shift the agriculture from destroying life to supporting biodiversity.
Trump Was also There
US President Donald Trump is someone who questions climate change and challenged every big US regulation aimed at fighting off this issue.
He briefly appeared at the summit, along with the VP and Secretary of State. He didn’t speak, but he did listen to the remarks by Angela Merkel, the German chancellor and the PM of India, Narendra Modi.
Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York who’s now a UN special envoy on climate change called out the president’s low-key appearance. He said to the audience that hopefully, their deliberations will help him as he formulates the climate policy.
Germany, as Merkel announced, will double the contribution to a UN fund to help less-developed countries in the fight against climate change.
The president of the Marshall Islands, Hilda Heine, announced she will seek approval from the parliament to declare a climate crisis on the low-lying atoll, which is already grappling with rise of sea level.
She also added that her country, as well as Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and New Zealand will commit to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year of 2050.
Climate Change Is Already Happening
Climate change is already causing problems like extreme weather, sea level rise, and thawing permafrost and this is worsening faster than expected.
Scientists emphasize the urgency since the Paris agreement took place 4 years ago. The agreement will enter a vital implementation phase next year after a round of negotiations in Chile in December.
However, according to the scientists, the pledges to reduce emissions aren’t sufficient to prevent the catastrophic warming. They also warn that failing to make the needed actions could endanger the survival of industrial societies.
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