Greta Thunberg Says Climate Talks Put People and the Planet at Risk

Greta Thunberg has criticized the climate negotiations in Antalya, saying the annual summit gives host countries a chance to improve their image while leaving the deeper problems unresolved. According to the Associated Press, she argued that talks are crowded with lobbyists funded by industries that contribute to environmental damage and benefit from the current system. “Every year we witness hypocrisy,” Thunberg said, according to the report. She warned that climate change threatens people broadly and said that everything people care about is at stake. Her message to world leaders was to put the interests of people and the planet ahead of profit and political influence. Thunberg said societies should act to protect people and improve their lives, rather than continuing to sacrifice the majority of the world’s population and the planet for the gains of a privileged few. She also described political and economic systems as increasingly incompatible with human nature. The Antalya gathering is the first climate summit Thunberg has attended since the 2021 negotiations in Glasgow. At that time, she dismissed leaders’ pledges with the phrase “blah, blah, blah.” She first drew international attention in 2018, aged 15, when she began a solo protest outside Sweden’s parliament under the banner School Strike for Climate. The UN climate negotiations in Antalya are scheduled to continue until November 20. The next conference, COP32, is planned for November 2027 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.