She has her own Wikipedia page, is 15 years old and already addressed the U.N. plenary last night in Katowice, Poland for the second time. Greta Thunberg spoke the hard felt words “You Are Stealing Our Future” to a room full of representatives of nearly 200 nations.
She is thé symbol of the youth standing up against politicians afraid of taking harsh but necessary measures to prevent the world as we know it from collapsing under irreversible climate consequences mother Earth has in the near future.
“For 25 years countless people have come to the UN climate conferences begging our world leaders to stop emissions and clearly that has not worked as emissions are continuing to rise. So I will not beg the world leaders to care for our future,” Greta said. “I will instead let them know change is coming whether they like it or not.”
In august Greta began a solo climate protest by striking from school in Sweden. In the meantime school strikes have spread to almost 300 cities in many countries across the world.
“Since our leaders are behaving like children, we will have to take the responsibility they should have taken long ago,” Greta told the audience. “We have to understand what the older generation has dealt to us, what mess they have created that we have to clean up and live with. We have to make our voices heard.”
Greta helt all present a mirror to look in with her words like “(…) You only speak of a green eternal economic growth because you are too scared of being unpopular. You only talk about moving forward with the same bad ideas that got us into this mess, even when the only sensible thing to do is pull the emergency brake. You are not mature enough to tell it like it is. Even that burden you leave to us children.”
I think no further words are needed.
Later on monday Greta had a meeting with the UN secretary general, António Guterres, and said: “What I hope we achieve at this conference is that we realise that we are facing an existential threat. This is the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced. First we have to realise this and then as fast as possible do something to stop the emissions and try to save what we can save.”
Guterres reaction was: “Our younger generations will have to help drive, and complete, the work we start today. We need to harness their energy, invention and political power to raise climate ambition.”
Well we have to see if something tangible comes from all these words.
To make it complete here an interview with Greta after her appearance before the U.N.
When she says ‘because you are too scared of being unpopular’ she resumes it all. In this world of public profiles and digital presence, few politicians dare ‘taking the risk’ of ringing the bell. Appearances are jealously kept, though at the end their names will be linked to past schemes.
The good part is that in these conditions flourish true leadership and opportunities. Like herself and Coco.
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