By Angela Dewan, CNN

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg mocked world leaders – including US President Joe Biden and Britain’s Boris Johnson – at a youth climate summit in Milan on Tuesday, saying the last 30 years of climate action have ‘were raised to “blah, blah, blah”.

Thunberg imitated the leaders by repeating their commonly used phrases on the climate crisis, seeing them as empty words and broken promises.

“When I say climate change, what do you mean? I think about jobs. Green jobs. Green jobs, ”she said, referring to Biden’s speeches on the climate crisis.

“We need to find a smooth transition to a low carbon economy. There is no planet B, ”she said, referring to a speech given by French President Emmanuel Macron. “There is no planet Blah. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

And in his jibe against British Prime Minister Johnson, Thunberg mocked the leader’s rhetoric around his government’s “green stimulus” plans.

“This is not some costly and politically correct dream of hugging the bunny or blah, blah, blah. Rebuild better, blah, blah, blah. Green economy, blah, blah, blah, ”Thunberg said.

“Net zero, blah, blah, blah. Climate neutral, blah, blah, blah. That’s all we hear from our so-called leaders – words, words that sound good but so far have not led to any actions, hopes or dreams. Words and empty promises.

Thunberg was speaking at the Youth4Climate forum, an event held two days before dozens of ministers gather in Milan for a final high-level meeting ahead of the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow in November. COP26 President Alok Sharma was present at the youth event and will chair the ministers’ meeting.

Young participants will present a list of recommendations for ministers to consider later this week. Ministers should try to align their positions with issues on the Glasgow agenda, including setting an end date for coal use and indicating who should pay what to help Southern countries in their journey. transition to low carbon economies.

Ugandan activist Vanessa Nakate said the developing world is still waiting for the rich world to honor its climate finance pledges.

Leaders of developed countries agreed a decade ago to transfer money to developing countries to help them reduce their carbon emissions but also adapt to the climate crisis. This promise was reaffirmed in 2015 in Paris, where world leaders again agreed to transfer $ 100 billion a year to Global South 2020, at least half of which went to adaptation. This deadline was missed last year.

“There is far too little evidence of the $ 100 billion a year that has been pledged to help climate-vulnerable countries meet this challenge. But these funds were promised to arrive by 2020 and we are still waiting, ”said Nakate, stressing that Africa pollutes very little but is at the forefront of the climate crisis.

“You cannot adapt to lost cultures, traditions and history. You cannot adapt to starvation. It is time for leaders to put loss and damage at the center of climate negotiations.

The-CNN-Wire
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