“Effectively, we have lost another two crucial years to political inaction”
Teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg says we have has wasted two years doing nothing to stop the problem.
It has been two years since Thunberg first went on a solo school strike to get politicians to act.
Thunberg has made the comments in an article for the Guardian, written with fellow teenage activists Luisa Neubauer, Anuna de Wever and Adélaïde Charlier.
“Looking back [over two years], a lot has happened. Many millions have taken to the streets … and on 28 November 2019, the European parliament declared a climate and environmental emergency,” said Thunberg.
“But over these last two years, the world has also emitted over 80bn tonnes of CO2. We have seen continuous natural disasters taking place across the globe. Many lives and livelihoods have been lost, and this is only the very beginning.”
“When it comes to action,” the article continues, “We are still in a state of denial. The gap between what we need to do and what’s actually being done is widening by the minute. Effectively, we have lost another two crucial years to political inaction.”
Swedish teenage Greta Thunberg first came to international in August 2018, when she decided to stop attending school in the run up to the Swedish general election on September 9th, in order to draw attention to climate change. That year, Sweden had been ravaged by heatwaves and wildfires, during the country’s hottest summer in over 250 years.
Her protests inspired similar action from young people around the world.
She went on to give speeches at protests around Europe, with her appearance at the the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference gaining significant international attention.
On Thursday, Thunberg and other school strikers will meet with German chancellor Angela Merkel, who currently holds the presidency of the European council.
