Young activists called on world leaders to act seriously

Greta Thunberg: We want action, not words, on climate change

Young activists from around the world have joined Greta Thunberg.

Reuters

Young activists including Greta Thunberg said the world's children could hear no more empty promises at this year's United Nations climate change conference, after a United Nations report concluded that no child would be spared the impact of global warming.

In the first indicator of its kind, published yesterday, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) found that nearly all of the world's 2.2 billion children are exposed to at least one type of climate or environmental risk, from catastrophic floods to toxic air pollutants.

Last week, a United Nations climate panel made up of the world's leading atmospheric scientists warned that global warming is dangerously close to spinning out of control, with deadly heatwaves, hurricanes, and other extreme weather events likely to worsen.

Thunberg, 18, said that the UNICEF index confirmed that children will be the most affected, and when world leaders meet in November during the United Nations Climate Change Summit, the world must see their actions, not words.

"I don't expect them to do this, but I would be happy if they prove me wrong," the activist told reporters before publishing the index's result on the third anniversary of the "Fridays for Future" movement, a global youth movement that began with her solo protest outside her school in Sweden.

Thunberg was joined by young activists from around the world, including Mitzi Junel Tan, 23, from the Philippines, who spoke about the experience of doing her homework by candlelight as hurricanes erupted abroad or her fear of drowning in her bed, after her room was flooded. .

empty promises

Activist Mitzi Gunnell asserted that after months of severe weather and harsh warnings from scientists, the "empty promises and vague plans" of world leaders are no longer enough.

"There is no excuse for this climate change conference not to be the conference that changes things," she added.

Approximately 2.2 billion children are exposed to at least one type of climate or environmental hazard.

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