Netizens clashed swords after climate activist Greta Thunberg taunted US Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, in her Twitter post. Thunberg fired back at the comment Mnuchin made at the Davos Economic Forum when he said that the environmentalist needs to get back to school and study economics, before urging the international community to stop investing in fossil fuels that climate activists believe are the main driver of climate change.
In her post on Twitter Thunberg, who took a gap year to raise awareness about climate change, said it “doesn’t take a college degree in economics” to realize that 1.5 degrees Celsius carbon budget and ongoing investment into fossil fuels don’t add up. Thunberg also added a graph, which showed the correlation between CO2 emissions and the carbon budget and posted another challenging statement about Mnuchin
The activist’s statement received mixed reactions with some social media users saying that Mnuchin’s statement was rude and accusing the official of incompetence.
Other netizens sided with the Secretary of the Treasury and opined that the 17-year-old is used by left-wing parties to push through their agenda.
Many citizens noted that Thunberg, which chastised Western countries for not doing enough to address climate issues, never criticized China or India, which are among the world’s worst polluters.
Many netizens challenged Thunberg on her claim that fossil fuels are damaging to the climate, saying the information she provided is inaccurate.
Still, others continued to discuss the rumour that Thunberg’s social media pages are run by her father.