Greta Thunberg is her name, and climate change is her game. The 16-year-old challenged world leaders in an emotional speech at the United Nations climate summit on Monday, demanding that more be done about the urgent issue.
The Swedish climate activist wanted answers on why the world’s leaders are not moving forward on climate change. “This is all wrong,” Thunberg said, reading from a piece of paper. “I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean, yet you come to us young people for hope. How dare you.”
“People are suffering,” the 16-year-old continued through tears. “People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are at the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you.” “How dare you continue to look away and come here saying you are doing enough,” Thunberg added. “You say you hear us and understand the urgency, but no matter how sad and angry I am, I do not want to believe that. Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil. And that I refuse to believe.”
Thunberg was a part of a panel that consisted of other climate activists at the summit on the eve of the U.N. General Assembly to encourage countries to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, Aol.com reports.
Thunberg along with 16 other children filed a legal complaint with the United Nations on Monday, accusing five countries — France, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, and Turkey – of not working to end the climate change issue.
