Greta Thunberg Calls UN Climate Talks Hypocritical as She Arrives in Turkey

Greta Thunberg arrived at the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, on Tuesday and sharply criticized the annual negotiations, according to the Associated Press. The Swedish activist said political leaders should put people and the planet ahead of profit and power, arguing that the conference process has repeatedly fallen short of its promises. Thunberg described the talks as hypocritical, saying host countries get an opportunity to improve their image while the negotiations include lobbyists paid by industries she called destructive. She also criticized political and economic systems that, in her view, are incompatible with human needs. Her comments came as delegates gathered after a year marked by deadly heat waves and floods, as well as an energy shock linked in the article to the Iran war. The conference is co-hosted by Turkey and Australia. Both countries promote renewable energy and rooftop solar, while continuing to rely heavily on fossil fuels, particularly coal, for electricity. Thunberg warned that climate change threatens what people value and urged governments to stop sacrificing the global majority and the planet for the benefit of a few. This was Thunberg’s first climate summit since the 2021 talks in Glasgow. She became internationally known in 2018, when, aged 15, she began a solo school strike outside Sweden’s parliament. The article also notes her climate advocacy, her 2022 book, and her involvement in protests and other causes. At the Antalya summit, she again used her arrival to challenge world leaders and the industries she says profit from the current system.