Greta Thunberg made headlines after her speech to the UN saying that we are “in the beginning of a mass extinction.
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The 16-year-old climate change activist was given an award from the Nordic Council for “breathing new life into the debate surrounding the environment and climate at a critical moment in world history.”
However, the teen said that they could keep the prize before issuing an ultimatum: she will not accept any award until they stop from ‘bragging’ and using ‘beautiful words’ to acting ‘in accordance with what the science says is needed’ to fight global warming.
She issued her official rejection via an Instagram post. The council confirmed that Thunberg indeed rejected the prize, which is worth more than $50,000.
Thunberg wrote: “I have received the Nordic Council’s environmental award 2019. I have decided to decline this prize.” She also noted that she’s traveling through California and couldn’t deliver the message in person.
“I want to thank the Nordic Council for this award. It is a huge honour,” the teen wrote. “But the climate movement does not need any more awards. What we need is for our politicians and the people in power start to listen to the current, best available science.”
Thunberg also called out the Nordic countries for what she described as their self-congratulatory hypocrisy. “The Nordic countries have a great reputation around the world when it comes to climate and environmental issues,” she said.
“There is no lack of bragging about this. There is no lack of beautiful words. But when it comes to our actual emissions and our ecological footprints per capita — if we include our consumption, our imports as well as aviation and shipping — then it’s a whole other story.”
Thunberg then added: “In Sweden we live as if we had about 4 planets according to WWF and Global Footprint Network. And roughly the same goes for the entire Nordic region. In Norway for instance, the government recently gave a record number of permits to look for new oil and gas.
“The newly opened oil and natural gas-field, ‘Johan Sverdrup’ is expected to produce oil and natural gas for 50 years; oil and gas that would generate global CO2 emissions of 1,3 tonnes.”
She continued: “The gap between what the science says is needed to limit the increase of global temperature rise to below 1,5 or even 2 degrees — and politics that run the Nordic countries is gigantic. And there are still no signs whatsoever of the changes required.
“The Paris Agreement, which all of the Nordic countries have signed, is based on the aspect of equity, which means that richer countries must lead the way. We belong to the countries that have the possibility to do the most. And yet our countries still basically do nothing.”
Thunberg then closed with an ultimatums: “So until you start to act in accordance with what the science says is needed to limit the global temperature rise below 1,5 degrees or even 2 degrees celsius, I — and Fridays For Future in Sweden — choose not to accept the Nordic Councils environmental award nor the prize money of 500 000 Swedish kronor.”
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Replaced!