Greta Thunberg in a video conversation with Swedish professor and joint director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research Johan Rockstrom, broadcasted live to a global audience from Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm, Sweden on April 22, 2020. JESSICA GOW / TT News Agency / AFP via Getty Images
When you want a seat on the UN Security Council, the last thing you need is a teenage activist, practiced at the art of shaming government officials, working against you. However, that's just what Norway and Canada have.
<p>Canada, Norway and Ireland are vying for the two available seats on the UN Security Council. Enter <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/greta-thunberg">Greta Thunberg</a>, bearing some free and stern advice.</p><p>The 17-year-old Swedish climate activist is the headline signatory on a letter to UN ambassadors of small developing nations. The letter argues that Canada and Norway both say they are concerned about the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis">climate crisis</a>, but will not shed their ardent commitment to expand <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuel</a> production, build <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pipelines">pipelines</a> through native land, and subsidize oil companies, as the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/greta-thunberg-canada-un-1.5605830" target="_blank">CBC</a> reported.</p>
<p>"For the young generation who will inherit the consequences of these decisions, it is critical that those who claim to be leading on climate action are held to account for decisions they are making back at home," the letter reads, according to the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/greta-thunberg-canada-un-1.5605830" target="_blank">CBC</a>.</p><p>The letter also featured the signature of three other youth activists and 22 climate scientists.</p><p>The writers argue that if Canada wants to honor its commitment to the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris agreement</a>, it should make permanent its temporary ban on extracting oil and gas in the Arctic, cancel both the Trans Mountain and Keystone XL pipeline projects, and end all subsidies to the oil and gas industry, according to <a href="https://www.rcinet.ca/en/2020/06/10/greta-thunberg-delivers-message-to-canada-ahead-of-un-vote/" target="_blank">Radio Canada International</a>.</p>
<p>Canada, despite its pristine air and forests, is actually among the worst in the G20 in meeting its Paris agreement greenhouse gas emissions targets, according to data compiled in 2019 by <a href="https://www.climate-transparency.org/" target="_blank"><em>Climate Transparency</em></a>, as <a href="https://www.rcinet.ca/en/2020/06/10/greta-thunberg-delivers-message-to-canada-ahead-of-un-vote/" target="_blank">Radio Canada International</a> reported.</p><p>The letter is addressed to the <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/sids/list" target="_blank">Small Island Developing States</a> since there are 38 members of the UN and they, more than larger countries, recognize the imminent danger the climate crisis poses. There are also 20 non-UN members. While together they are not strong enough to wield power, they do make up 20 percent of the votes. That's a significant number since the countries running for a two-year term on the security council starting in 2021 must win the backing of two-thirds of member states, whether they are contested or not.</p>
<p>"The Small Island Developing States understand more than most the existential threat posed by climate change to our peace and security, even fundamental statehood, and as such have a strong interest in ensuring that climate commitments are a central consideration when deciding which candidates to support," the <a href="https://www.climatechangenews.com/2020/06/10/greta-thunberg-seeks-influence-un-security-council-election/" target="_blank">letter</a> states.</p><p>"As the Ambassador of a country that understands the grave risk posed to our security and yours, we ask that you raise these issues in your conversations with representatives of the candidate countries, and demand that they unite behind the science.</p><p>"If Norway and Canada are serious about our climate security, they should commit to no new fossil fuel exploration or extraction, and begin phasing down their domestic production at a pace that is consistent with limiting warming to 1.5C," the authors wrote.</p><p>Canada is criticized in the letter for being the second biggest financer of fossil fuels in the G20. Norway is slammed, in the letter, for its unwavering support on <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/arctic">Arctic</a> drilling.</p>
<p>Gail Whiteman, founder of Arctic Basecamp and professor of sustainability at the University of Exeter, UK, explained why she added her signature to the campaign.</p><p>"Climate change is a hugely important security topic, it is a hugely important global risk that is coming fast down the pipeline," said Gail Whiteman, founder of Arctic Basecamp and professor of sustainability at the University of Exeter, UK, who added her name to the letter, as <a href="https://www.climatechangenews.com/2020/06/10/greta-thunberg-seeks-influence-un-security-council-election/" target="_blank">Climate Home News</a> reported.</p><p>"On both the Canadian and the Norwegian side, they have some quite strong stated policies on climate change but when you look at the details, that is very problematic."</p>
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Pope Francis delivers a blessing to an empty St. Peter's Square on April 13. Vatican Pool / Vatican Media / Vatican Pool via Getty Images
"We have sinned against the earth," Pope Francis said in a forceful Earth Day message Wednesday that reinforced the religious leader's commitment to environmental action.
<p>Francis delivered the remarks during his general audience, which he broadcast from his library because of lockdown measures put in place to stop the spread of the new <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a>, as <a href="https://news.trust.org/item/20200422104126-w4mdr" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>. The speech in honor of Earth Day's 50th anniversary comes around two weeks after the pope <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/pope-francis-coronavirus-climate-crisis-2645677364.html" target="_self">suggested in an interview</a> that the pandemic might be part of nature's response to the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>.</p><p>In his remarks Wednesday, Francis warned that harming the earth put human life at risk.</p><p>"There is a Spanish saying that is very clear about this," he said. "It goes: 'God always forgives; we humans sometimes forgive, and sometimes not; the earth never forgives.' The earth does not forgive: if we have despoiled the earth, its response will be very ugly."</p>
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<p>First, he praised local and international environmental movements and highlighted youth-led climate strikes. But the pope's message was not only a warning. He also proposed solutions.</p><p>"[S]till it will be necessary for our children to take to the streets to teach us the obvious: we have no future if we destroy the very environment that sustains us," he said.</p><p>He also held up the knowledge of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/indigenous" target="_self">indigenous</a> communities as an example of an alternative way of interacting with the planet.</p><p>"They teach us that we cannot heal the earth unless we love and respect it," he said. "They have the wisdom of 'living well,' not in the sense of having a good time, no, but of living in harmony with the earth. They call this harmony 'living well.'"</p><p>He concluded with a call to action both for world leaders and ordinary citizens. He urged leaders to prepare for two major upcoming international conferences: COP15 on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity" target="_self">Biodiversity</a> in Kunming, China and COP26 on Climate Change in Glasgow, United Kingdom, which <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/cop26-postponed-coronavirus-2645616746.html" target="_self">has been delayed</a> because of the coronavirus.</p><p>For everyone else, he encouraged joining the environmental movement.</p><p>"It will help if people at all levels of society come together to create a popular movement 'from below,'" he said. "The Earth Day we are celebrating today was itself born in precisely this way. We can each contribute in our own small way."</p><p>Francis' Earth Day remarks build on his efforts to use his office to promote a theology that honors the earth. They come five years after he <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/pope-francis-encyclical-urges-swift-action-on-climate-change-ahead-of--1882051686.html" target="_self">published a landmark encyclical</a> on climate change called "<a href="http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html" target="_blank">Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home</a>," which gave the official Catholic Church seal of approval to the pope's environmental concerns.</p>
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<p>Since then, he <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/pope-francis-big-oil-2577109671.html" target="_self">has urged oil executives to lead the clean energy transition</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/pope-francis-synod-of-amazon-2641015876.html" target="_self">spoken out</a> for indigenous people threatened by the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. He also has suggested he would add a definition of "ecological sins" to the Roman Catholic Catechism, Reuters reported.</p><p>In his Earth Day message, the pope revisited key themes from his encyclical of caring for the earth and the most vulnerable.</p><p>"Today we celebrate the fiftieth Earth Day," he began. "This is an occasion for renewing our commitment to love and care for our common home and for the weaker members of our human family. As the tragic coronavirus pandemic has taught us, we can overcome global challenges only by showing solidarity with one another and embracing the most vulnerable in our midst."</p><p>Francis wasn't the only climate leader to offer an Earth Day call to action in the time of coronavirus.</p><p>Swedish climate activist <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/greta-thunberg" target="_self">Greta Thunberg</a> said the response to the virus that causes COVID-19 showed what could happen when world leaders listened to scientists.</p><p>"Whether we like it or not, the world has changed," she said in a digital conversation Wednesday with Potsdam Institute Director Johan Rockström, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/22/earth-day-greta-thunberg-calls-for-new-path-after-pandemic" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>. "It looks completely different now from how it did a few months ago. It may never look the same again. We have to choose a new way forward."</p>
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<p>UN Secretary-General <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/antonio-guterres" target="_self">António Guterres</a>, meanwhile, used the occasion to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/un-earth-day-coronavirus-climate-crisis-2645802263.html" target="_self">endorse</a> a green recovery from the economic toll exacted by the pandemic.</p><p>"On this Earth Day, please join me in demanding a healthy and resilient future for people and planet alike," he said.</p>
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Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg on Wednesday said that campaigners must avoid mass rallies amid the escalation of coronavirus cases around the world. Instead, "digital strikes" would be the way forward during the crisis, she said on Twitter.
<p>"We young people are the least affected by this virus but it's essential that we act in solidarity with the most vulnerable and that we act in the best interest of our common society," Thunberg said on Twitter, where she has over four million followers.</p>
<p>In a series of tweets, the 17-year-old urged fellow climate campaigners to follow the advice of experts in an attempt to "flatten the curve." This means to lower the rate of infection by taking countermeasures in the early phase after an outbreak.</p>
<div id="01389" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9OII8F1584022031"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1237711121445982212" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">We can’t solve a crisis without treating it as a crisis and we must unite behind experts and science.
This of cours… https://t.co/DdK03MXSQk</div> — Greta Thunberg (@Greta Thunberg)<a href="https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/statuses/1237711121445982212">1583928301.0</a></blockquote></div><p>As she urged her followers to avoid large gathers and "listen to local authorities", she also said that the "Fridays for Future" movement will start organizing online campaigns and strikes till the time the pandemic is not under control.</p><p>"So keep your numbers low but your spirits high and let's take one week at the time," Thunberg said, as she called on more people to join the "#DigitalStrike" by posting pictures of themselves with a sign on Fridays.</p><p>The world is struggling to contain the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, with the number of people infected increasing by the day, especially in China, South Korea, Iran and Italy. The U.S. has <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-latest-germany-reports-fourth-death-from-covid-19/a-52731894" target="_blank">restricted the entry</a> of all foreign nationals who have traveled to Europe's Schengen countries.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/greta-thunberg-calls-for-digital-strikes-amid-coronavirus-fears/a-52732530?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Malala Yousafzai and Greta Thunberg Finally Meet in Oxford, Famous Activists Unite
26 February
Popular
Malala Yousafzai (left) and Greta Thunberg (right) met in Oxford University Tuesday. Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
What happens when a famous school striker meets a renowned campaigner for education rights?
<p>Apparently, hugs and social media posts. At least that was the result when <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate</a> activist <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/greta-thunberg" target="_self">Greta Thunberg</a> met women's education advocate and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai at Britain's Oxford University Tuesday, <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-climatechange-greta-britain/greta-met-malala-young-activists-pictured-together-in-oxford-idUKKBN20J276" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>.</p>
<p>Yousafzai posted a picture of the pair with their arms around each other on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B8_o71enY3s/" target="_blank">Instagram Tuesday</a>.</p><p>"She's the only friend I'd skip school for," Yousafzai tweeted.</p>
<div id="61a05" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8VP6LT1582726010"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1232346177342988288" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">She’s the only friend I’d skip school for. https://t.co/uP0vwF2U3K</div> — Malala (@Malala)<a href="https://twitter.com/Malala/statuses/1232346177342988288">1582649199.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Thunberg was equally starstruck.</p><p>"So... today I met my role model. What else can I say?" she tweeted.</p>
<div id="b8854" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="63JNQR1582726010"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1232360416375967745" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">So... today I met my role model. What else can I say? @Malala https://t.co/n7GnXUngov</div> — Greta Thunberg (@Greta Thunberg)<a href="https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/statuses/1232360416375967745">1582652594.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Both young women earned international fame for standing up for their beliefs at a young age.</p><p>Yousafzai was shot in the head, neck and shoulders by a member of the Taliban while on her way to school in 2012, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-51632654" target="_blank">according to BBC News</a>. Before getting attacked, she had written an anonymous diary about living under the extremist group.</p><p>In 2014, she became the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize at 17. She is now 22 and studies politics, economics and philosophy at Oxford.</p><p>Thunberg, who is five years younger, rose to prominence two years ago when she began a one-person school strike outside Swedish parliament to call for action on the climate crisis. Her efforts helped inspire an international youth movement. She has since been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize twice, in 2019 and 2020, according to Reuters.</p><p>Thunberg had traveled to the UK to take part in a school strike in Bristol on Friday.</p>
<p>It isn't known exactly what Thunberg and Yousafzai discussed. However, Thunberg also spoke to Yousafzai's fellow members of her Oxford college, Lady Margaret Hall.</p><p>"[G]rateful she found time to talk to some of our students about science, voting, the limits of protest, divestment, real zero v net zero, and much more," college principal Alan Rusbridger wrote on Instagram.</p>
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transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B8_o-PaHsPy/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Alan Rusbridger (@arusbridger)</a> on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2020-02-25T15:10:04+00:00">Feb 25, 2020 at 7:10am PST</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>Other Oxford academics were excited their school could host the meeting.</p><p>"Reason unlimited why I love this place," politics lecturer Dr. Jennifer Cassidy <a href="https://twitter.com/OxfordDiplomat/status/1232328210618208256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1232328210618208256&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fuk-england-oxfordshire-51632654" target="_blank">tweeted</a>. "I walk out my door, up one street and see <a href="https://twitter.com/Malala" target="_blank">@Malala</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg" target="_blank">@GretaThunberg</a> talking outside. Two powerful young women standing for justice, truth and equality for all. So many, are so grateful, for all that you do. Keep shining bright."</p>
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60,000-Strong Fridays for Future Protest in Hamburg, Germany Prompts Question: 'Where Are You, USA?'
24 February
Politics
Participants of the climate demonstration Fridays for Future walk through Hamburg, Germany on Feb. 21, 2020. Axel Heimken / picture alliance via Getty Images
By Andrea Germanos
U.S.-based youth climate activists on Friday drew attention to the climate protest in Hamburg, Germany, where organizers said roughly 60,000 people took part, and hoped that Americans took inspiration from their European counterparts.
<p>Among those taking part in the large Fridays for Future action in the northern German city was school strike for climate founder <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/greta-thunberg">Greta Thunberg</a> of Sweden.</p><p>Fridays for Future organizer Alexandria Villaseñor of New York City shared Thunberg's tweet showing the massive crowd and asked, "Where are you USA?"</p>
<div id="16a22" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="N2R9QN1582563914"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1230916162684194816" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Where are you USA😭 https://t.co/TM54wYpZLc</div> — Alexandria Villaseñor (@Alexandria Villaseñor)<a href="https://twitter.com/AlexandriaV2005/statuses/1230916162684194816">1582308257.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>"The United States needs these types of numbers on a regular basis," <a href="https://twitter.com/JeromeFosterII/status/1230916727866830850" target="_blank">said</a> Jerome Foster II, a high school senior and Fridays for Future organizer in Washington, DC.</p><p>"What is it going to take for the U.S. to rise up like this?" <a href="https://twitter.com/XrDurham/status/1230887541043318784" target="_blank">wondered</a> the Durham, N.C. branch of Extinction Rebellion. "We are in a climate catastrophe and people around the world, particularly in the global south are facing the brunt NOW! January 2020 was the warmest since we've recorded temperatures."</p><p>Thunberg, who's in her 79th week of Fridays for Future actions, noted in her remarks to the Hamburg crowd that the weekly actions have spread globally.</p><p>"For almost one and half years young people have been striking from school all over the world," she said.</p><p>"The world is failing on ensuring us a future. And I honestly don't understand how the people in power can continue like now. How they can look their children in the eyes while they are stealing their future?" she asked.</p><p>"We are facing an existential crisis," said Thunberg, "but we must keep on pushing."</p><p>While the Hamburg march drew attention for its size Friday, other youth-led climate actions took place in communities across the globe, which many documented on social media:</p>
<div id="ee4ce" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5BGGM11582563914"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1230786676793970691" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The youth of Kenema have joined us to fight for the climate. They are adding adding their voices in demand for urge… https://t.co/Jm3LqD3qHf</div> — Fridays For Future - Sierra Leone (@Fridays For Future - Sierra Leone)<a href="https://twitter.com/FFF_SierraLeone/statuses/1230786676793970691">1582277385.0</a></blockquote></div>
<div id="0f829" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="FYEVGC1582563914"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1230863438848692229" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Week 6 of the climate boycott! We sat through the blazing heat and the lightening today. But no big change happened… https://t.co/3JdkOJcQl0</div> — Rae (of Sunshine) (@Rae (of Sunshine))<a href="https://twitter.com/raeesahnm/statuses/1230863438848692229">1582295686.0</a></blockquote></div>
<div id="9e125" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1QBZDJ1582563915"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1230812678702161921" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Danish activists marching to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to demand #ClimateAction now. Denmark needs to get a g… https://t.co/Roh0DANml5</div> — SussiLillelund (@SussiLillelund)<a href="https://twitter.com/SussiLillelund/statuses/1230812678702161921">1582283584.0</a></blockquote></div>
<div id="e165a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="F0XFFH1582563915"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1230923475742810112" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">It's our responsibility
#FridaysForFuture
#ClimateCrisis deepens poverty
Threaten food and water supply
Makes peop… https://t.co/Iwgnvekqq4</div> — Patricia Kombo (@Patricia Kombo)<a href="https://twitter.com/patriciakombo/statuses/1230923475742810112">1582310000.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Villaseñor, in a Friday tweet sharing the climate action she spearheaded in New York, underscored her steadfastness in her demand for urgent and bold action to tackle the ecological crisis.</p><p>"It's cold, we're tired, and we're not stopping," she wrote.</p>
<div id="fa221" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="S9BAE71582563915"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1230948331544662016" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">WEEK 63 #ClimateStrike at the @UN - and then at NYC City Hall! Today I was joined by @MarielS1115 from… https://t.co/63faFXsIjG</div> — Alexandria Villaseñor (@Alexandria Villaseñor)<a href="https://twitter.com/AlexandriaV2005/statuses/1230948331544662016">1582315926.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/21/60000-strong-fridays-future-protest-hamburg-germany-prompts-question-where-are-you?cd-origin=rss" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Climate Justice, Indigenous Rights Advocates Rally for Wet'suwet'en People as Canadian Police Continue Raids
11 February
Politics
Demonstrators block the Port of Vancouver in support of the Wet'suwet'en, who are blocking a pipeline from being built on their land, on Feb. 9, 2020. Sally T. Buck / Flickr
By Julia Conley
Indigenous rights supporters held solidarity actions across Canada over the weekend as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police continued their raids on Wet'suwet'en land in British Columbia.
<p>The <a href="http://unistoten.camp/" target="_blank">Unist'ot'en Camp</a> reported on its <a href="https://www.facebook.com/unistoten/posts/3475585559182331" target="_blank">official Facebook page</a> Sunday that at least 21 people had been arrested since Thursday, when, as Common Dreams <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/06/colonialism-all-its-ugliness-indigenous-land-defenders-condemn-violent-police-raid" target="_blank">reported,</a> the RCMP conducted a violent pre-dawn raid to fulfill an injunction on behalf of Coastal GasLink, which aims to build a <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pipelines" target="_self">pipeline</a> in Wet'suwet'en territory in northern British Columbia.</p><p>The camp uploaded several videos over the weekend of the resistance to the police, who were reportedly<a href="https://www.facebook.com/wetsuwetenstrong/videos/192164805496867/UzpfSTM5MTQ3MTM0MDkyNzExNzozNDczMzIyNjUyNzQxOTU1/" target="_blank"> set to meet</a> with Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs Saturday to discuss reconciliation regarding the injunction, which was filed despite a long-standing Canadian Supreme Court decision stating the Wet'suwet'en had not given up their homeland in the province. The RCMP reportedly refused to attend the meeting after arriving late.</p>
<p><a href="https://ricochet.media/en/2920/police-fly-to-unistoten-gitxsan-show-solidarity-as-siege-continues-in-northwest-bc" target="_blank">According to</a> Ricochet<em>,</em> the RCMP expanded its "exclusion zone" Saturday, taking control of most of the territory of the Gidimt'en, one of the five clans of the Wet'suwet'en.</p><p>"The exclusion zone has been created by the RCMP to force Wet'suwet'en land defenders off our land," the Unist'ot'en Camp said in a statement. "It is a colonial and criminalizing tool to illegally and arbitrarily extend RCMP authority onto our lands. The massive exclusion zone, completely under RCMP authoritarian discretion, falls outside the injunction area. Chiefs and Wet'suwet'en people are illegally being denied access to their own territories."</p><p>The neighboring Gitxsan Nation led a solidarity action on Saturday, blocking a rail line in protest of the RCMP's actions, the injunction, and the Canadian government's failure to intervene on behalf of the Wet'suwet'en people's rights.</p><p>"The Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs and their house members have fought the forcible removal from their territories as they seek to protect their sovereign rights and protect the land, water and air," Gitxsan hereditary chief Norman Stephens <a href="https://ricochet.media/en/2920/police-fly-to-unistoten-gitxsan-show-solidarity-as-siege-continues-in-northwest-bc" target="_blank">told</a> Richochet. "If their rights are being trampled, our rights are being trampled."</p>
<div id="d2d29" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="HATXZU1581455109"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1226257753590595584" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">More raw footage from Jerome Turner of the Gitxsan blockade of rail lines near New Hazelton, B.C. happening now in… https://t.co/WR6ZD4ivAM</div> — Ricochet (@Ricochet)<a href="https://twitter.com/ricochet_en/statuses/1226257753590595584">1581197605.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Other rail blockades were <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/02/08/protests-shut-down-ontario-rail-lines-in-support-of-wetsuweten-nation.html" target="_blank">reported</a> across the country, and solidarity actions took the form of rallies and protests at government buildings in Canada as well as in the U.S.</p>
<div id="52996" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="FIB1U11581455110"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1226597913423380480" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#WetsuwetenSolidarity rally now blocking John Counter Blvd at train tracks. #ygk https://t.co/fYJ4WRtZ0u</div> — Kingstonist (@Kingstonist)<a href="https://twitter.com/kingstonist/statuses/1226597913423380480">1581278706.0</a></blockquote></div>
<div id="67ac5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="B6F1FT1581455110"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1226306501620334593" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">52 hours in, and this Indigenous youth-led lockdown at the BC Legislature continues to grow.
Ignore it or not,… https://t.co/ayMLTXTLEM</div> — Torrance Coste (@Torrance Coste)<a href="https://twitter.com/TorranceCoste/statuses/1226306501620334593">1581209228.0</a></blockquote></div>
<div id="82cdf" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2GXG4E1581455110"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1226632375011954689" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Action shoot from today in Seattle. Marched from Westlake to the canadian consulate #AllEyesOnWetsuweten… https://t.co/DSVdABbvge</div> — Ben Jones (@Ben Jones)<a href="https://twitter.com/totalactivate/statuses/1226632375011954689">1581286922.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Climate action leader <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/greta-thunberg" target="_self">Greta Thunberg</a> also expressed support for the Wet'suwet'en on social media.</p>
<div id="3578f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="RE8ZUH1581455110"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1226137808865243136" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Indigenous rights = Climate justice
#WetsuwetenStrong #KeepItInTheGround https://t.co/1kYNumyoQT</div> — Greta Thunberg (@Greta Thunberg)<a href="https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/statuses/1226137808865243136">1581169008.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>"Indigenous rights equals climate justice," Thunberg tweeted.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/09/climate-justice-and-indigenous-rights-advocates-rally-solidarity-wetsuweten-people" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Fridays for Future Movement Urges Greater Global Focus on Africa's Climate Champions
01 February
Climate
Swedish climate activists Greta Thunberg (R) and Ell Ottosson Jarl sit in front of a screen displaying Vanessa Nakate from the Fridays For Future movement in Uganda as they give a press conference during a meeting with climate activists and experts from Africa focusing on key environmental threatening of the continent, on Jan. 31 in Stockholm. PONTUS LUNDAHL / TT News Agency / AFP / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
The Fridays for Future movement held a press conference Friday focused on the need for the world to better recognize the amazing climate activism taking place in Africa — a continent that is already enduring severe impacts of global heating in spite of its limited contributions to creating the crisis.
<p>Climate activists and experts joined the event via video, including Vanessa Nakate of Fridays for Future Uganda, who <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ikrd/vanessa-nakate-greta-thunberg-davos" target="_blank">was cropped out</a> of an Associated Press photo with four white school strikers while <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/24/we-have-so-much-more-do-youth-climate-activists-declare-global-elite-close-out-davos" target="_blank">attending</a> the World Economic Forum's summit in Davos, Switzerland last week. The incident put a spotlight on the erasure of Africans in conversations and reporting about the climate emergency.</p><p>Joining Nakate for the live-streamed conference were movement founder Greta Thunberg of Sweden; Fridays for Future activists Ell Ottosson Jarl of Sweden, Makenna Muigai of Kenya, and Ayakha Melithafa of South Africa; and Ndoni Mcunu, a climate scientist at the Global Change Institute at University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.</p>
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9f9bbb823dcc0bff315bf4620fb57a50"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/FridaysForFuture.org/videos/2250738001887650/" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div><p>In a Facebook post about the press conference, Fridays for Future International <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FridaysForFuture.org/videos/2250738001887650/" target="_blank">said</a> that following the photo incident, which the AP called a "<a href="https://apnews.com/6a853a81f34164ab85713e68a889976d" target="_blank">terrible mistake</a>" and apologized for, "The media must report fairly and justly on the climate crisis throughout the world."</p><p>Not only do journalists and news outlets often lack African voices in climate coverage, they also fail to report on how global heating is impacting the continent. A new CARE International analysis that Common Dreams <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/28/largely-driven-climate-crisis-9-out-10-least-reported-humanitarian-crises-2019-were" target="_blank">reported</a> on this week found that nine of the 10 most under-reported humanitarian crises in the world last year were in Africa, and many of those crises were climate-related.</p><p>Nakate, <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ikrd/vanessa-nakate-cropped-photo-climate-crisis" target="_blank">according to</a> BuzzFeed, now sees the photo incident at Davos as an opportunity to make climate discussions, including in the media, more inclusive:</p><blockquote>"After the picture and everything that happened, I received quite a number of messages and support from different parts of the world," she said.<br>"It's been my encouragement, motivation, and source of energy to move on—to keep demanding for climate action, and keep doing the climate strikes and everything that we've been doing for climate activism.<br>"I believe that after this incident and all that's happened, there's going to be a change in how the media reports the issues of climate change," Nakate said. "I believe that the media will start to cover stories from different parts of the world, because I believe that each country has an activist, and every activist has a story to tell, a solution to give."<br></blockquote><p>Thunberg, who was in the photo at Davos and <a href="https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1220736865877270529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeednews.com%2Farticle%2Fikrd%2Fvanessa-nakate-greta-thunberg-davos" target="_blank">expressed</a> support for Nakate after she was excluded from it, said Friday that "the African perspective is always so under-reported" and with the press conference, she hoped to use her platform to direct some focus to activists on the continent.<br></p><p>"I'm not the reason why we're here," she said. The 17-year-old Swede acknowledged that her climate activism often garners global headlines, while the actions of others in the movement — particularly those from the global south — don't receive the same level of attention. As Thunberg put it: "We are fighting for the exact same cause."</p><p>Nakate said during the press conference that "African activists are doing so much ... and it gets so frustrating when no one really cares about them."</p><p>"Every individual is needed in the fight against the climate crisis," added the 23-year-old. "Because climate change is not specific about the kinds of people it affects. It affects everyone, so it's up to all of us to rise up and speak up, because when we do, we'll be able to get the change and the action that we need."</p><p>With a nod to the massive youth-led movement that saw millions of people<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/09/27/over-6-million-people-worldwide-climate-strikes-largest-coordinated-global-uprising" target="_blank"> take to the streets</a> to demand ambitious climate policies over the past year, she declared: "If 2019 was the year of creating awareness, then let's make 2020 the year of action."</p><p>Muigai, who is from Nairobi, pointed out that "Africa at large is being affected by the negative impacts of climate change ... A great example of the impacts of this is the locust infestation in East Africa, which will soon lead to food insecurity."</p><p>As Common Dreams <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/28/climate-crisis-fueled-locust-swarms-pose-unprecedented-threat-food-security-and" target="_blank">reported</a> this week, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization recently warned that the locust swarms pose "an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods in the Horn of Africa."</p><p>The region's worst locust outbreak in decades is partly fueled by the climate crisis. Muigai said that due to lack of quality education, some people in less developed countries don't fully understand climate issues.</p><p>The African continent, Muigai noted, is also dealing with issues like deforestation and bad energy policies that contribute to global heating. She said that "all of us, at the end of the day, will be affected by climate change."</p><p>Melithafa explained that in South Africa, where severe drought has hit crops and water supplies, people are living though climate impacts each day. Highlighting how wealth inequality factors into climate issues, Melithafa said that as the rich dig private wells, poorer residents "already struggling to make ends meet, just to get a decent meal at the end of the day," also have to buy drinking water.</p><p>Mcunu, the climate scientist, pointed to the difficulties of responding to extreme weather events, scarcity of food and clean water, and electricity demands as key issues the continent is grappling with related to the climate crisis.</p><p>"How is it that we are not being spotlighted in stories or being told in these stories?" Mcunu said. "That's the main challenge we have as a continent."</p><p>"It is said that Africa only contributes to approximately 5% of the [global greenhouse gas] emissions, yet we are the most impacted," she added. She noted efforts to raise awareness worldwide about African knowledge and adaption initiatives as well as the necessity of working with scientists on the continent to gather accurate data.</p><p>Mcunu emphasized the importance of international cooperation to not only adapt to the impacts of climate change but also prevent further global heating, particularly by decarbonizing economies.</p>
<p> <em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/31/fridays-future-movement-urges-greater-global-focus-africas-climate-champions" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>. </em><em></em></p>
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Actress Jane Fonda is arrested during the "Fire Drill Friday" Climate Change Protest on Oct. 25, 2019 in Washington, DC. John Lamparski / Getty Images
When you see an actor in handcuffs, they're usually filming a movie. But when Jane Fonda, Ted Danson, Sally Field, and other celebrities were arrested in Washington, D.C., last fall, the only cameras rolling were from the news media.
<p>"When you're famous, there's a real responsibility to use that celebrity in the best possible way you can," Jane Fonda says.<em></em></p>
<iframe style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/12814376/height/45/theme/standard/thumbnail/yes/direction/backward/" height="45" width="100%" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe><p>She began leading weekly demonstrations called <a target="_blank" href="https://www.janefonda.com/2019/11/my-fire-drill-fridays/">Fire Drill Fridays</a> at the U.S. Capitol last October. The goal was to raise awareness about the climate crisis and demand that the country transition away from fossil fuels.</p><p>Over the fall, Fonda and other protesters were arrested multiple times for civil disobedience. She even spent a night behind bars.</p>
<p>Fonda says before she started Fire Drill Fridays, she felt depressed and helpless about global warming.</p><p>"I wasn't doing enough and I didn't know what to do," she says.</p><p>But inspired by Greta Thunberg and other young activists, Fonda decided it was time to join the climate movement.</p>
<p>She says now, instead of just sitting around feeling scared about the future, she feels empowered and even hopeful.</p><p>"We have the future in our hands," she says. "What an awesome responsibility and what a beautiful opportunity."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/01/now-in-her-80s-jane-fonda-turns-to-climate-activism/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Yale Climate Connections</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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'We Have So Much More to Do': Youth Climate Activists Declare as Global Elite Close Out Davos Forum
25 January
Popular
Protesters march during a "Friday for future" youth demonstration in a street of Davos on Jan. 24 on the sideline of the World Economic Forum annual meeting. FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP / Getty Images
By Andrea Germanos
Youth climate activists marched through the streets of Davos, Switzerland Friday as the World Economic Forum wrapped up in a Fridays for Future demonstration underscoring their demand that the global elite act swiftly to tackle the climate emergency.
<p>Among those taking part in the march were Rise Up Movement founder Vanessa Nakate of Uganda and School Strike for Climate trailblazer Greta Thunberg of Sweden. Thunberg has already <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/21/act-if-you-loved-your-children-above-all-else-greta-thunberg-demands-davos-elite" target="_blank">taken forum participants to task</a> this week for their vacuous promises and insufficient plans to rein in planet-cooking emissions. </p>
<div id="82054" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="L9O0WU1579990519"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1220680104327561216" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">WEEK 59 #ClimateStrike in Davos w/@GretaThunberg @Luisamneubauer @isabelle_ax and so many more amazing activists! W… https://t.co/Z9Tw0PfSmE</div> — Alexandria Villaseñor is in Davos (@Alexandria Villaseñor is in Davos)<a href="https://twitter.com/AlexandriaV2005/statuses/1220680104327561216">1579867790.0</a></blockquote></div><p>"As long as the science is being ignored, as long as the facts are not being taken into account, and as long as the situation is not being treated as a crisis, then world and business leaders can of course continue to ignore the situation," Thunberg <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/greta-thunberg-joins-climate-strike-day-davos/story" target="_blank">said</a> at a news conference Friday.</p><p>Thunberg's headline-<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=%22greta+thunberg%22&client=firefox-b-1-d&tbm=nws&ei=AhorXrTjKMjQtQbW_qXICw&start=0&sa=N&ved=0ahUKEwi07Izt0pznAhVIaM0KHVZ_Cbk4ChDy0wMIZg&biw=1689&bih=896&dpr=1" target="_blank">grabbing</a> voice is just one part of a loud and youthful chorus at the summit. One of the stages for this chorus has been the "<a href="https://arcticbasecamp.org/" target="_blank">Arctic basecamp</a>," a scientist-created concept to highlight at the annual forum the climate crisis's particular threat to the region.</p>
<div id="e7b24" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="VLUPB01579990519"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1219014180768026630" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Would you sleep in sub-zero temperatures to save the climate?
#WEF2020 #WorldEconomicForum #Davos
@ArcticBasecamp… https://t.co/qhBnO17YJH</div> — DW Business (@DW Business)<a href="https://twitter.com/dw_business/statuses/1219014180768026630">1579470603.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The basecamp hosted several young activists at this year's summit, including Nakate, who talked to CNBC International about the discrepancy between the campers and the jet-setting forum-goers.</p><p>"We are just trying to show them that we are doing the right thing despite the fact that we are not sleeping or staying in the best conditions," Nakate <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/22/davos-2020-meet-the-climate-activists-camping-in-the-cold-at-davos.html" target="_blank">told</a> the outlet. "And, as they are enjoying their first class (flights), they should know that there are people who are actually living in worse conditions."</p><p>"So, we are practically representing those people who are already facing the impact of the climate crisis. It is time to get out of our comfort zones," she added.</p>
<div id="3ce8d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="RCYRW01579990519"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1220386603920773121" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Interview with @CNBCi
https://t.co/KuuW6i3ZBD
#Davos2020 #WEF20 https://t.co/Rq1FDg7ab4</div> — Vanessa Nakate (@Vanessa Nakate)<a href="https://twitter.com/vanessa_vash/statuses/1220386603920773121">1579797814.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Nakate joined fellow Arctic Basecamp guests Kaime Silvestre of Brazil, Brooks Whiteman of England, Eva Jones of the U.S. and Wenying Zhu of China for a roundtable <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/davos-climate-change-roundtable-youth-activists-941166/amp/?__twitter_impression=true" target="_blank">discussion</a> Tuesday with Rolling Stone.</p><p>During the discussion, Nakate expressed her frustration with the lack of concrete and sufficient commitments at summit, saying, "What they do is speak and promise but they don't take action."</p><p>Corporate media coverage of the climate crisis also came in for criticism, with Nakate saying the recent torrential rains falling in African nations have not received the scope of coverage as other disasters elsewhere in the world.</p><p>"I have no problem with them reporting other disasters, but we saw the California fires and they would report about them every day," said Nakate. "We've seen the Australian fires, and they've been reporting about them every day, and donations have been coming out to those kinds of people. It really saddens me because there are people as well in African countries."</p><p>That erasure of humanity was punctuated Friday, when Nakate <a href="https://twitter.com/vanessa_vash/status/1220684751931084801" target="_blank">said</a> she was temporarily "cropped out" of a photo accompanying an Associated Press article. The omission, Nakate suggested, was intentional.</p><p>The original photo showed five climate activists. The four that remained — Luisa Neubauer, Greta Thunberg, Isabelle Axelsson and Loukina Tille — are white.</p>
<div id="89bee" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="UB4NZP1579990519"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1220723715652104192" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">If you look very carefully, you can see where @AP cropped black climate activist @vanessa_vash out of the photo
It… https://t.co/XroKsQJfKQ</div> — Charlene (@Charlene)<a href="https://twitter.com/CK1london/statuses/1220723715652104192">1579878188.0</a></blockquote></div><p>In a video she shared on Twitter, Nakate <a href="https://twitter.com/vanessa_vash/status/1220722317002756098" target="_blank">said</a>, "This is the first time in my life I understood the definition of racism....Does it mean that I have no value?"</p><p>"Africa is the least emitter of carbon but we have [been] the most affected by the climate crisis. But you erasing our voices won't change anything."</p>
<div id="e63fd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="O8VLWO1579990519"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1220722317002756098" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Share if you can
What it means to be removed from a photo! https://t.co/1dmcbyneYV</div> — Vanessa Nakate (@Vanessa Nakate)<a href="https://twitter.com/vanessa_vash/statuses/1220722317002756098">1579877854.0</a></blockquote></div><p>BuzzFeed <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/24/told" target="_blank">reported</a> on the photo change and included a comment from <em>AP</em>.</p><p>"There was no ill intent," an AP spokesperson told the outlet. "<em>AP</em> routinely publishes photos as they come in and when we received additional images from the field, we updated the story. <em>AP</em> has published a number of images of Vanessa Nakate."</p>
<p> <em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/24/we-have-so-much-more-do-youth-climate-activists-declare-global-elite-close-out-davos" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em><em></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg takes part in a "Friday for Future" youth demonstration in a street of Davos on Jan. 24, 2020 on the sideline of the World Economic Forum annual meeting. FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP via Getty Images
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin pretended not to know who Greta Thunberg is, and then he told her to get a degree in economics before giving world leaders advice, as The Guardian reported.
<p>Thunberg gave an impassioned speech at the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland, in which she called for an immediate divestment from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuels</a>. Mnuchin, at a press conference, dismissed her completely, pretending not to know who the TIME Person of the Year is.</p><p>"Is she the chief economist? Who is she? I'm confused," he said when asked about her comments, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/climate/greta-thunberg-steve-mnuchin.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported.</p><p>He then insisted that he was joking, but continued to brush her off as ill-informed and not somebody world leaders should listen to.</p><p>"After she goes and studies economics in college, she can come back and explain that to us," said Mnuchin at a press briefing, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/climate/greta-thunberg-steve-mnuchin.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported.</p><p>In her speech on Tuesday, Thunberg, who has a knack for shaming powerful adults for inaction and selfish behavior that will leave future generations in a crisis, said, "I wonder, what will you tell your children was the reason to fail and leave them facing the climate chaos you knowingly brought upon them?"</p>
<p>When asked about Mnuchin's comments before a Friday protest in Davos, Thunberg simply said, "We cannot care about those kinds of things," as the <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/01/24/greta-thunberg-shakes-off-steven-mnuchins-diss-at-world-economic-forum/" target="_blank">New York Post</a> reported. She added that Mnuchin's insults had no effect on her and her fellow activists who are criticized all the time.</p><p>She also <a href="https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1220355420600008704" target="_blank">tweeted</a> a response, "My gap year ends in August, but it doesn't take a college degree in economics to realize that our remaining 1.5° carbon budget and ongoing fossil fuel subsidies and investments don't add up."</p><p>She added, "So either you tell us how to achieve this mitigation or explain to future generations and those already affected by the climate emergency why we should abandon our climate commitments."</p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jan/23/greta-thunberg-told-to-study-economics-by-us-treasury-secretary-steven-mnuchin" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> noted, Mnuchin's comments expose the wide chasm between the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" target="_self">Trump</a> administration and climate activists. When Mnuchin was pressed on the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis" target="_self">climate crisis</a>, which has been a focal point of the talks in Davos, the treasury secretary said that environmental issues are "clearly complicated."</p><p>The former hedge fund manager and former Goldman Sachs executive then told reporters, "When I was allowed to drive I had a Tesla. I drove in California. I liked it.</p><p>"But nobody focuses on how that electricity is made and what happens to the storage and the environmental issues on all these batteries," as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jan/23/greta-thunberg-told-to-study-economics-by-us-treasury-secretary-steven-mnuchin" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>He also insisted that the U.S. private sector is showing leadership on environmental issues rather than through government. Despite the fact that the U.S. is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, Mnuchin insisted that much more attention needs to be paid to the environmental damage caused by India and China, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jan/23/greta-thunberg-told-to-study-economics-by-us-treasury-secretary-steven-mnuchin" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p>
<p><br>When addressing the issued of divesting from fossil fuels, Mnuchin urged caution, noting that there are "significant economic issues, issues with jobs." As <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jan/23/greta-thunberg-told-to-study-economics-by-us-treasury-secretary-steven-mnuchin" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported, he added, "Many economies are transitioning to more efficient and cleaner energy. That doesn't have to be all <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/" target="_self">renewables</a>."</p><p>Other world leaders were far more receptive to Thunberg's call for a radical overhaul of the global economy.</p><p>"The impatience of our young people is something that we should tap," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In her address to the World Economic Forum, Merkel called for more international cooperation to combat the climate crisis.</p><p>Echoing Thunberg, she said, "I am totally convinced that the price of inaction will be far higher than the price of action," as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jan/23/greta-thunberg-told-to-study-economics-by-us-treasury-secretary-steven-mnuchin" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p>
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Davos 2020: Trump Dismisses Environmental Concerns as 'Pessimism' at Climate-Focused WEF
21 January
Politics
Trump leaves after delivering a speech at the Congress Centre during the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 21, 2020. JIM WATSON / AFP via Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed the concerns of environmental activists as "pessimism" in a speech to political and business leaders at the start of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Tuesday.
<p><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change" target="_self">Climate change</a> and global warming are topping the agenda at this year's annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, with activists at odds with businesses and governments about how to tackle the issue.</p>
<p>What Trump said:</p><ul><li>The U.S. leader dubbed climate activists "prophets of doom" and rejected their warnings, saying: "Fear and doubt is not a good thought process."</li><li>Despite concerns about emissions, Trump praised the U.S. as one of the world's largest producers of natural gas.</li><li>He announced that the U.S. would be joining the WEF's one trillion trees initiative.</li><li>When asked about his stance on climate change by reporters ahead of his speech, he said: "I'm a big believer in the environment. The environment is very important to me."</li><li>Much of Trump's speech focused on praising his administration's domestic economic policies, saying that by rolling back regulations, prosperity "would come thundering back at record speed."</li><li>"A nation's highest duty is to its own citizens," he said. "Only when governments put their citizens first, will they be invested in their national futures."</li></ul>
<h3>Greta: 'Basically Nothing Has Been Done'</h3><p>Following Trump's speech, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/greta-thunberg-named-time-person-of-the-year/a-51622872" target="_blank">Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg</a> criticized world leaders and business executives for failing to meet their climate targets.</p><p>"Unlike you, my generation will not give up without a fight. The facts are clear but they are still too uncomfortable for you to address," she told a panel.</p><p>"Our house is still on fire. Your inaction is fueling the flames by the hour. And we are telling you to act as if you loved your children above all else," <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/greta-thunberg">Thunberg</a> said, echoing her remarks from her WEF appearance last year.</p><p>At a panel just before Trump arrived, Thunberg emphasized that moderate changes will not be enough to slow the impact of climate change.</p><p>"We are all fighting for the environment and climate. If you see it from a bigger perspective, basically nothing has been done. It will require much more than this. This is just the very beginning," she said.</p><p>Who else will be there? More than 50 heads of state and government will be in attendance along with more than 3,000 other attendees. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to speak on Thursday. Following in Thunberg's footsteps, other young activists are also taking part this year, including South African climate activist Ayakha Melithafa and Irish teen scientist Fionn Ferreira.</p><p>What to look out for: It will be the first time that Trump meets with the new European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The U.S. leader has repeatedly clashed with the EU over trade and tax policies. It also remains to be seen whether businesses will back up their pledges on climate change with concrete action.</p><p>What is Davos? It's the 50th meeting of the World Economic Forum this year, which was launched by German economist Klaus Schwab. The meeting takes place at the Swiss ski resort of Davos, drawing world leaders, business executives, academics, charity heads and celebrities. The conference is used to hold bilateral meetings, make business deals or to try and impact the global agenda. The meeting this year runs from Jan. 21 – 24.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/davos-2020-trump-rejects-prophets-of-doom-at-climate-focused-wef/a-52083749?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">DW</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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