Greta Thunberg addressed thousands in the center of Glasgow on November 5th, 2021, as politicians at the United Nations' 26th Conference of the Parties unveiled plans to combat the climate emergency. Thunberg and others at the rally said these plans don't go nearly far enough in limiting the heating of the planet to 1.5°C. It is also worth noting that Greta Thunberg was not allowed to attend the conference.
Greta said the following: "We don't need anymore distant, non-binding pledges. We don't need any more empty promises... Yet that is all that we are getting and no, that is not radical to say."
Contrary to what many in power claim, Thunberg also said, policymakers' apparent belief that "our world can survive a 2.7° or 3° hotter world is not only extremely radical—it's pure madness."
The first two paragraphs of her speech are the following:
It is not a secret that COP26 is a failure. It should be obvious that we cannot solve a crisis with the same methods that got us into it in the first place. And more and more people are starting to realize this.
Many are starting to ask themselves, “What will it take for the people in power to wake up?" But let’s be clear: They are already awake. They know exactly what they are doing. They know exactly what priceless values they are sacrificing to maintain business as usual. The leaders are not doing nothing; they are actively creating loopholes and shaping frameworks to benefit themselves and to continue profiting from this destructive system. This is an active choice by the leaders to continue to let the exploitation of people and nature and the destruction of present and future living conditions to take place.
Thunberg's speech drew loud applause from thousands of young people who traveled to Glasgow from all over the world to march as the conference, known as COP26, marked, "Youth and Public Empowerment Day."
LINKS
Watch video Here (YouTube)
Read Transcript Here (Democracy Now, 11-8-21)
Greta Thunberg Accuses World Leaders of 'Pure Madness' for Climate Failures at COP26 (Common Dreams, 11-5-21)
Greta Thunberg's Social Media