Thunberg points finger at companies and politicians for ignoring the climate change problem
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Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg, 16, spoke before France’s lower house of parliament Tuesday as she continues her campaign for action on climate change. French conservative parties denounced her appearance as an emotional ploy.
“They said that we children, we exaggerate, that we are alarmists. To respond to that I invite you to read the last IPCC report. You will find all of our ‘opinions’ there.” Those were the first words of 16-year-old Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg to the French parliament on Tuesday after some Conservative MPs called her an “apocalyptic guru” and a “prophetess in shorts”.
The rest of Thunberg’s speech urged French MPs to reach the latest IPCC report if they wish to limit the damages done by global warming.
“420 gigatonnes of CO2 is all we had left back on January 1, 2018, to have 67% of chances of staying below the 1.5°C temperature limit.”
“All we children did is to communicate those scientific facts,” she said.
Thunberg pointed the finger at companies and politicians for ignoring the climate change problem.
“The biggest danger is not being inactive, it’s when politicians and companies pretend to be doing something.”
“Some people have chosen not to come here today, some have chosen not to listen to us. And that is fine. We are, after all, just children,” said Thunberg.
“You don’t have to listen to us. But you do have to listen to the science … and that is all we ask, to unite behind the science.”
Thunberg, whose school strikes protesting government inaction over climate change helped spark a worldwide movement, spoke to MPs at the National Assembly (lower house) and then attended debates in the main chamber as a guest of honour.
“We become the bad guys who have to tell people these uncomfortable things because no one else wants to, or dares to,” said Thunberg, speaking in English at one of the parliament’s conference rooms.
“And just for quoting or acting on these numbers, these scientific facts, we receive unimaginable amounts of hate and threats. We are being mocked and lied about by members of parliament and journalists,” she added.
