Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has been noted for her skills as an orator. She said she did not go to school to become a climate scientist, as some suggested, because the science was done and only denial, ignorance, and inaction remained.
Speculating that her children and grandchildren would ask her why they had not taken action in when there was still time, she concluded with "we can't change the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed. Thunberg addressed the COP24 United Nations climate change summit on 4 December , [ 7 ] and also spoke before the plenary assembly on 12 December She warned the global leaders that "I don't want you to be hopeful.
I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act. I want you to act as you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if the house was on fireβbecause it is". In the weekend 29β31 March , Thunberg visited Berlin. She spoke in front of some 25, people near the Brandenburg Gate on 29 March, where she argued that "We live in a strange world where children must sacrifice their own education in order to protest against the destruction of their future.
Where the people who have contributed the least to this crisis are the ones who are going to be affected the most. In her acceptance speech at the gala, Thunberg urged celebrities everywhere to use their influence and do their fair share of climate activism to help her. At an April meeting at the European Parliament in Strasbourg with MEPs and EU officials, Thunberg chided those present "for three emergency Brexit summits and no emergency summit regarding the breakdown of the climate and the environment".
Climate change discussions have not been dominant at EU summits because other issues have taken precedence. But it is so much more than that. Like now. Because you did not act in time. Is my English OK? Is the microphone on? Then we will pass a point of no return which will be catastrophic. It was a day I will never forget, not only because of the unimaginable bravery and sacrifices made by those who gave their lives to defend the freedom and democracy of the world, but also because they managed to make the seemingly impossible possible.
