She is 15. She is fair-skinned, has brown hair, and is slim. She is Greta Thunberg, and she is from Sweden. In her very beautiful voice, using a harsh tone, Greta lambasted the world leaders in her passionate speech at the United Nations climate summit in New York. Recently, she has emerged as an dynamic climate change activist. What she stated in her speech at the summit is a very timely depiction of the dangers of climate change for everyone across the globe.
Greta said in her speech, “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words, and yet I am one of the lucky ones. People are suffering; 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 fairytales of eternal economic growth. How dare you?”
Everyone should encourage her. She is patently optimistic and cares about the’boat’-this planet-that we are all riding in. It is our natural responsibility to think about it. However, some world leaders tried to put down her efforts for change. Donald Trump, in a disdainful manner, said, “She seems like a very happy young girl, looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!” Vladimir Putin, Russia’s President, said, “No one has explained to Greta that the modern world is complex and different and, and that people in Africa or in many Asian countries want to live at the same wealth level as in Sweden.” He continued, “I’m sure that Greta is a kind and a very sincere girl. But adults must do everything not to bring teenagers and children into some extreme situations.”
I am not surprised at the responses that came from Trump and Putin. The tone and words selected by the two world leaders are a blatant manifestation of their dislike for any kind of activism for climate change. The countries they are leaders of wish to inculcate hegemony-technologically, economically and culturally. There is a growing and a distasteful competition among nations to become dominant in the chessboard of international power. With less or no concern, carbon resources are being used to overcome energy deficits. Climate dangers are increasing day by day.
Greta said in her speech, “. We are at the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth. How dare you?”
Experts say that the last decade witnessed an all-time high global average temperature. Extreme weather conditions like floods, melting glaciers at quick rate and acid rains are insidiously damaging our ecosystem. Some world leaders, however, utter empty words without taking any pragmatic action. That is what infuriates Greta.
The most striking factor regarding Greta’s activism is that it makes me think why the youth should do activism. Greta, unlike many young people of her age, is more critical in understanding the world and its future. Critical thinking is essential, but many leaders of various countries do not promote a culture of criticism because they do not want people like Greta to censure their actions.
The world has become global. Some issues are local but others have a global relevance. Climate dangers and environmental challenges are global issues. Some leading countries -the US, China and Russia-are using a vast amount of oil and gas, which produce greenhouse emissions. Not only these countries but there are many others that despite a scant amount of oil and gas usage are doing things that are bad for climate.
Climate activism from the teenager Greta is a timely signal for all of us. Instead of attempting to belittle her, we should encourage her voice more and more, while discouraging those who try to stifle her voice.
The writer is a researcher at the Physics Department, QAU