Greta Thunberg dismissed COP26 as a ‘greenwashing campaign’ for politicians as she joined Emma Watson on a climate discussion panel – after sparking controversy by telling world leaders to ‘shove your climate crisis up your a***’.
Miss Thunberg, who also this week denounced Government figures at the Glasgow summit for ‘whatever the f*** they are doing in there’, yesterday attended the New York Times’ ‘Climate Hub’ – a forum for discussing ‘actionable climate strategies’ – in the same city.
The Swedish eco activist slammed the UN’s COP26 conference and called it a ‘greenwash Campaign, a PR Campaign for Businesses and Politicians to pretend they are taking actions but not following through.
Miss Thunberg stated that, “Since we’re so far from what we actually needed, I think it would be considered a success if people realize how much of a failure this conference is.”
She and other young female activists, including Malala Yousafzai and Vanessa Nakate, also discussed the role women have played in bringing together protests and demanding action from world leaders, the New York Times reports.
Miss Thunberg spoke with other young female activists like Vanessa Nakate, a 24-year old Ugandan activist, Malala Yasafzai, a Pakistani education activist, about the critical role young women played in rallying protesters, and pressing world leaders to act.
Ms Yousafzai said: ‘It is the young people, especially young women who are the voices of the climate movement, and that gives hope to so many people.’
Miss Thunberg, who also this week denounced Government figures at Glasgow’s COP26 summit for ‘whatever the f*** they are doing in there’, yesterday attended the New York Times’ ‘Climate Hub’ – a forum for discussing ‘actionable climate strategies’ – in the same city
Miss Thunberg spoke with other young female activists like Vanessa Nakate, a 24-year old Ugandan activist, as well as Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan, who talked about the critical role young women played in rallying protesters to demand action and pressuring world leaders.
This comes as thousands of youth activists are expected to descend on Glasgow today in protest against the dangerous lack of action from leaders at the COP26 Climate Summit.
Demonstrations are planned in Scotland to highlight the disparity between the glacial pace for emissions reductions and climate emergency currently affecting countries all over the globe.
Organisers of Fridays for Future’s global strike movement stated that they expect large crowds to protest during COP26 Youth Day’. They will also be joined by prominent campaigners Greta Thunberg (left) and Vanessa Nakate (right).
“This UN Climate Summit is once again seeing leaders from around the world making big promises and saying big words,” said Mitzi Joelle Tang, a climate justice activist from Philippines.
“We need to drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions, to make reparations from the Global North and the Global South for adaptation and to manage losses and damages, and to end the fossil fuel industry.”
Nearly 200 countries’ delegates are gathering in Glasgow, to discuss ways to meet the Paris Agreement goals to limit temperature rises between 1.5 and 2.
Greta Thunberg gave a passionate and foul-mouthed speech, telling demonstrators: ‘Inside Cop, there are just politicians and people in power pretending to take our future seriously… No more blah blah blah, no more whatever the f*** they are doing inside there!’
World leaders pose for a group shot during an evening reception to celebrate the opening day at the COP26 summit in Glasgow.
The UN-led process requires that countries commit to ever-increasing emission cuts. It also encourages richer, older emitters to help developing nations fund their energy transformations to address climate impacts.
On Thursday, two countries made additional pledges to reduce their fossil fuel consumption.
Twenty nations, including major financiers, pledged that the United States of America and Canada would end foreign fossil fuel funding by 2022.
Over 40 countries have pledged to phaseout coal, the most polluting fossil fuel, although details are vague and a timeline is not yet disclosed.
Thunberg wasn’t impressed, tweeting: “This conference is over.” This is a Global North greenwash Festival.
Experts believe that a commitment to reduce methane emissions of at least 30% this decade by more than 100 countries during the summit of high-level leaders at the beginning COP26 will have a positive short-term impact on global warming.
Environmental groups however pointed out that governments, especially wealthy polluters have a tendency to fail to live up to their climate pledges.
“On Monday, I stood before world leaders in Glasgow and asked for their help in the climate crisis,” said Elizabeth Wathuti, a Kenyan activist, who addressed the conference’s first plenary.
“I asked them not to take their historic responsibility lightly and to take serious actions here. They haven’t.
COP26 was attended by 26 countries with national climate plans. This, when combined, will put Earth on track to heat 2.7C this century according to the UN.
Global communities are already facing more intense fires and droughts as a result of our heating climate.
Kevin Mtai, a Kenyan activist, stated that “We are tired of fighting for the current normal’ – the normal’ we have at the moment is unviable and unsustainable, and not enough.”
“We need to make changes.”