In connection with the Glasgow climate summit, Greta Thunberg called the meeting of world leaders a fiasco, “full of empty talk”. She called the conference a festival of “greenwashing” and accused politicians of only engaging in “blah blahblah” and only faking involvement instead of actually doing something about the climate.
Thunberg's tirades and tone made Norwegian Climate Minister Espen Barth Eide see red.
“When you say that politics has no meaning, then we are on a slightly dangerous course. I believe that the strong and sensible commitment to make something happen must be transformed into political action – not into rejecting the whole idea of democratic political change,” Barth Eide told national broadcaster NRK.
“She risks leading them into something authoritarian, anti-democratic and outright dangerous. Her rhetoric is just a single step short of demanding anything beyond civil disobedience. And what she says is not true. Progress is being made, even if it may not be enough,” he wrote in an opinion piece. “We need a Greta Thunberg and activists who push from the outside. There is no need for Greta Thunberg who only spreads contempt and hopelessness,” he concluded.
“Greta, you have said that the most important thing young people can do is become activists. I don't agree with you. No solution to the climate crisis will be politically neutral. The most important thing you as a young person can do is to get involved in politics and make sure that the right decisions are made,” Nåbo told SVT.