Greta Thunberg's speech at the COP24

"You are not mature enough"  Here is the powerful speech 15-year-old activist Greta Thunberg gave at the COP24.

Transcript

00:00Our biosphere is being sacrificed so that rich people in countries like mine can live in luxury.

00:09It is the sufferings of the many which pay for the luxuries of the few.

00:30Many people say that Sweden is just a small country and it doesn't matter what we do.

00:43But I've learned that you are never too small to make a difference.

00:47And if a few children can get headlines all over the world just by not going to school,

00:52then imagine what we could all do together if we really wanted to.

00:58But to do that, we have to speak clearly, no matter how uncomfortable that may be.

01:06You only speak of green, eternal economic growth because you are too scared of being unpopular.

01:14You only talk about moving forward with the same bad ideas that got us into this mess,

01:21even when the only sensible thing to do is pull the emergency brake.

01:28You are not mature enough to tell it like it is.

01:33Even that burden you leave to us children.

01:38But I don't care about being popular.

01:41I care about climate justice and a living planet.

01:47Our civilization is being sacrificed for the opportunity of a very small number of people

01:54to continue making enormous amounts of money.

01:58Our biosphere is being sacrificed so that rich people in countries like mine can live in luxury.

02:08It is the sufferings of the many which pay for the luxuries of the few.

02:15The year 2078, I will celebrate my 75th birthday.

02:22If I have children, maybe they will spend that day with me.

02:26Maybe they will ask me about you.

02:30Maybe they will ask why you didn't do anything while there still was time to act.

02:37You say you love your children above all else,

02:41and yet you are stealing their future in front of their very eyes.

02:47Until you start focusing on what needs to be done, rather than what is politically possible, there is no hope.

02:56We cannot solve a crisis without treating it as a crisis.

03:01We need to keep the fossil fuels in the ground, and we need to focus on equity.

03:09When the solutions within this system are so impossible to find, then maybe we should change the system itself.

03:19We have not come here to beg world leaders to care.

03:23You have ignored us in the past, and you will ignore us again.

03:28We have run out of excuses, and we are running out of time.

03:33We have come here to let you know that change is coming, whether you like it or not.

03:39The real power belongs to the people.