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So why are you shooting? I strike that we take the climate crisis seriously and treat it as if it were a crisis. Yes, but what do you want politicians to do? I want them to listen to science and act accordingly. How do we solve this climate problem? It is absurd for a young person to ask me this question over and over, but not as absurd as reducing the climate and ecological emergency to a problem that needs to be fixed. This is the greatest crisis humanity has ever faced. We demand a secure future. Is that really too much to ask? I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to act like our house is on fire. All political and economic systems have failed, but humanity has not failed yet. A year before my UN speech, the thought of seeing my own photo everywhere was unthinkable. If you care about this kind of attention, you’ll likely develop an insane self-image. Presidents, prime ministers, kings and princesses suddenly see opportunities to take a selfie and then post it on their Instagram with the hashtag #savetheplanet. Perhaps by disappointing future generations, it will make them forget the shame of their own generation. “You all came to us for hope, young people. How dare you! You stole my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. Yet I am one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. And all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of endless economic growth. How dare you!” “And if you choose to disappoint us, I say we will never forgive you. The world is waking up. And change is coming, whether you like it or not.” On the subway, some come forward to congratulate me. Someone says we should celebrate. But I don’t understand what your congratulations are for. And I understand even less what we should celebrate. Another meeting is over. And all that’s left is empty promises. It repeats itself after a while. No matter where you are in the world, politicians are pretty much the same. I urged them to listen to the science and take action before it’s too late. They say they think it’s incredible that I’ve been this active and determined and that when I grow up I can be a politician and make a real difference. I then explain that if we are to stay below the 1.5 or even 2 degrees Celsius target when I grow up, it will be too late to act. Then they laugh nervously and start talking about something else. I was called to testify at the US Congress in Washington, DC. “I am presenting this report as my testimony because I do not want you to listen to me. I want you to listen to the scientists. Thank you.” In the IPCC’s latest update, scientists highlight keeping global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius. We’ve already surpassed about 1.2 degrees Celsius of global warming today. There are 420 gigatons of CO₂ left to be emitted globally on January 1, 2018. It’s the carbon budget that gives us the best chance of staying below the 1.5°C target. We emit about 42 gigatons of CO₂ each year. So today, the world has dropped below 280 gigatons of CO₂. That’s six and a half times the usual emissions of today’s business until the budget runs out completely. It’s equivalent to less than a year. Do you remember Gangnam Style? That was about eight years ago. That’s longer than we’re talking about. This gives us the best possible way to avoid passing tipping points or feedback loops, irreversible chain reactions beyond human control. The climate crisis is not an equitable crisis. Those most affected by its consequences are often those who want to cause the problem in the first place. They are the ones who do the least. The climate crisis cannot be resolved within today’s political and economic systems. This is not an opinion. This is real. And the truth doesn’t stand a chance, as truth is uncomfortable, unloved, and unprofitable. Emperors naked, each one. It turns out that our entire society is just one big nudist party. “And if you belong to that small group of people who feel threatened by us, then we have some very bad news for you. This is just the beginning.” Every Friday, I continue to attack wherever I find myself at that moment. Everywhere, lots of people show up, people of all ages. We are faced with the need to make changes that are unprecedented in human history. Things may seem dark, but I’m telling you there is hope. And that hope comes from the people, from democracy, from you. “What do we want?” “Government action.” “When do we want it?” “Now!” We have passed a social tipping point. We can no longer walk away from what our society has ignored for so long. This is an existential crisis. Now we must do the seemingly impossible. And it’s up to you and me because no one else will do it for us. But who is Greta really? I think people want to get to know Greta. I’m not important. This has nothing to do with me. I’m only doing this because no one else is doing it.
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