Greta
Thunberg to Congress: ‘You’re not trying hard enough. Sorry’
The Swedish
environmentalist was one of several who spoke at a Senate climate crisis task
force
Lauren
Gambino in Washington
@laurenegambino
Tue 17 Sep
2019 21.51 BSTLast modified on Tue 17 Sep 2019 22.09 BST
At a
meeting of the Senate climate crisis task force on Tuesday, lawmakers praised a
group of young activists for their leadership, their gumption and their display
of wisdom far beyond their years. They then asked the teens for their advice on
how Congress might combat global warming – one of the most urgent and
politically contentious threats confronting world leaders.
Greta
Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish activist who has galvanized young people
across the world to strike for more action to combat the impact of global
warming, politely reminded them that she was a student, not a scientist – or a
senator.
“Please
save your praise, we don’t want it,” she said. “Don’t invite us here to tell us
how inspiring we are without doing anything about it. It doesn’t lead to
anything.
“If you
want advice for what you should do, invite scientists, ask scientists for their
expertise. We don’t want to be heard. We want the science to be heard.”
In remarks
meant for all Congress as a whole, she said: “I know you are trying but just
not hard enough. Sorry.”
The
audience laughed. Supporters broke into applause. Senator Ed Markey, the
Massachusetts Democrat who co-sponsored the Green New Deal and leads the Senate
task force, perhaps seemed surprised by her bluntness. He smiled.
Seated at
the table were some of the most sympathetic and vocal supporters of bold action
on climate change. But blocked by a Republican-controlled Senate and a hostile
White House, the political prospect of enacting sweeping reform before the 2020
presidential election is bleak.
“We need
your leadership, young people are the army politically, which has arrived in
the United States,” he told Thunberg. “You put a spotlight on this issue in a
way that it has never been before. And that is creating a new X factor.”
Acknowledging
their skepticism, Markey said: “We hear you. We hear what you’re saying and we
will redouble our efforts.”
Thunberg
was one of several young activists who spoke at the meeting, which was held in
the bowels of the Capitol during two days of action and speeches aimed at
urging lawmakers to support “transformative climate action”. She was joined by
activists from across the US and South America, part of a “multiracial,
intergenerational” effort to combat climate change.
The
meetings and speeches were intended to raise awareness ahead of a global
climate strike on Friday in which students and workers will walk out of schools
and offices to demand global action, as world leaders gather in New York for
the annual United Nations summit.
“The generation of the Green New Deal will not
only survive but we will thrive,” said Nadia Nazar, co-founder of the advocacy
group Zero Hour, at a news conference earlier on Tuesday.
“We will no longer be known as the kids
fighting the apocalypse. We will be known as the solution to the climate
crisis.”
In the US,
support for sweeping action on climate change is polarized. Many Republicans –
among them the president – are still openly skeptical of the science behind
global warming. Republican leaders have mocked Democrats for introducing a
Green New Deal and have used the sweeping proposal as a cudgel against
lawmakers and presidential candidates.
Markey said
their movement is shifting the political landscape. The senator pointed to the
2020 presidential debates as evidence of what has changed. Candidates are being
asked about climate change and pushed to introduce plans to combat global
warming. This is in stark contrast to 2016.
“What has
happened? You have happened,” he told the activists. “You are giving this extra
level of energy to the political process that is absolutely changing the
dynamics of politics in the United States.”
The 2020
election, Markey said, will in many ways be a “referendum on climate change”.
Thunberg
arrived in the US after crossing the Atlantic on a solar-powered yacht. She
rose to international prominence after launching “Fridays for Future”:
student-led strikes that have spread to 135 countries. She has been nominated for
a Nobel Peace Prize.
On Monday,
she met Barack Obama. The former president shared a photo from their meeting,
in which he praised Thunberg as “one of our planet’s greatest advocates” who is
“unafraid to push for real action”.
Barack
Obama
✔
@BarackObama
Just 16,
@GretaThunberg is already one of our planet’s greatest advocates. Recognizing
that her generation will bear the brunt of climate change, she’s unafraid to
push for real action. She embodies our vision at the @ObamaFoundation: A future
shaped by young leaders like her.
Later on
Tuesday, the group was scheduled to meet Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is a co-sponsor of the Green New Deal in the
House.
On
Wednesday, Thunberg will deliver what has been billed as a “major address” to
members of Congress.
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