Greta Thunberg, a Swedish climate activist, ridiculed world leaders’ ostensibly false climate change commitments during the Youth4Climate summit in Milan. Thunberg reduced the words of the leaders to gibberish Biden’s green jobs, Macron’s no Planet B mantra, and Boris Johson’s joke at the United Nations are just a few examples. Thunberg said, “This is not about some expensive politically correct green ads with bunny hugging or blah blah blah. Build back better blah blah blah. Green economy blah blah blah. Net-zero by 2050 blah blah blah.”
The 18-year-old to emphasize what she described politicians’ “empty words and promises” used Soundbites from Mr. Johnson, such as “expensive bunny hugging and build back better,” She went on to emphasize later in the speech that change is “not only conceivable but urgently imperative,” and that people should not give up hope.
“All we hear from our so-called leaders is this Word. Words that sound terrific but have not resulted in any action so yet. Their meaningless words and promises overwhelm our hopes and dreams. Of course, meaningful discourse is necessary, but after 30 years of blah blah blah, where have we ended up?”
Her message echoes the frustrations that climate scientists and activists have been experiencing for a long time, particularly recently. Despite the promises made during the Climate Leaders’ Summit and the Petersburg debate, little action was taken. None of the main greenhouse gas emitters are on track to reach the goals set out in the Paris Agreement. This is alarming, but, as Thunberg pointed out, we still have time to modify our ways.
Many governments have set lofty goals for reducing emissions in order to combat climate change. Some recent pronouncements, such as China’s promise that it will not build any additional coal plants overseas and the United States, the European Union, and others vowing to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030, are evidence of progress, according to analysts.
However, they warn that there are still significant obstacles to overcome. The United Kingdom, for example, has committed to reducing emissions by 78 percent by 2035, compared to 1990 levels. However, the government’s present plans are expected to deliver less than a fifth of the required cutbacks.
“Of course, we still have a chance to turn things around.” It is a distinct possibility. It will necessitate massive annual emission reductions, unlike anything the world has ever seen before. And because we don’t have the technology solutions to deliver even close to it, we’ll have to change,” Thunberg concluded in her stirring speech. “We can no longer rely on those in positions of power to determine what is or is not politically feasible.” We can no longer allow those in positions of power to determine what constitutes hope. Hope isn’t passive, hope isn’t blah blah blah paragraph blah blah blah blah blah blah Hope is speaking the truth, acting on it, and it always comes from the people!”
At the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November, Mr. Johnson has stated that he will advocate for action on coal, climate, vehicles, and trees in particular.
