16-yr-old Greta Thunberg to world leaders:'How dare you? you have stolen my dreams and my childhood'
United Nations, Sep 24: Scolded for doing little, leader after leader promised the United Nations on Monday to do more to prevent a warming world from reaching even more dangerous levels.
As they made their pledges at the Climate Action Summit, though, they and others conceded it was not enough. And even before they spoke, teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg shamed them over and over for their inaction: "How dare you?"
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres concluded the summit by listing 77 countries that committed to carbon neutrality by 2050, 70 nations pledging to do more to fight climate change, with 100 business leaders promising to join the green economy and one-third of the global banking sector signing up to green goals.
"Action by action, the tide is turning," he said. "But we have a long way to go."
Businesses and charities also got in on the act, at times even going bigger than major nations.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates announced Monday that his foundation, along with The World Bank and some European governments, would provide USD 790 million in financial help to 300 million of the world's small farmers adapt to climate change. The Gates foundation pledged USD 310 million of that.
"The world can still prevent the absolute worst effects of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and developing new technologies and sources of energy," Gates said. "But the effects of rising temperatures are already under way."
As the day went on Monday and the promises kept coming, the United States seemed out in the cold.
Before world leaders made their promises in three-minute speeches, the 16-year-old Thunberg gave an emotional appeal in which she scolded the leaders with her repeated phrase, "How dare you." "This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here," said Thunberg, who began a lone protest outside the Swedish parliament more than a year ago that culminated in Friday's global climate strikes.
"I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you have come to us young people for hope. How dare you. You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words."
"We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and yet all you can talk about is money," Thunberg said. "You are failing us." Later, she and 15 other youth activists filed a formal complaint with an arm of the U.N. that protects children, saying that governments' lack of action on warming is violating their basic rights.
US President Donald Trump mocked Thunberg on Twitter, writing: "She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!"
Outside experts say they heard a lot of talk Monday but not the promised action needed to keep warming to a few tenths of a degree. They say it won't produce the dramatic changes the world requires.
"Sometimes I feel that Greta is still out in front of the Swedish parliament out on her own," said Stanford University's Rob Jackson, who chairs the Global Carbon Project, which targets carbon emissions across the world.
Bill Hare, who follows national emissions and promises for Climate Action Tracker, called what was said "deeply disappointing" and not adding up to much.
"The ball they are moving forward is a ball of promises," said economist John Reilly, co-director of MIT's Joint Center for Global Change.
"Where the 'ball' of actual accomplishments is, is another question." Of all the countries that came up short, World Resources Institute Vice President Helen Mountford said one stood out: the United States for "not coming to the table and engaging."
"What we've seen so far is not the kind of climate leadership we need from the major economies," Mountford said. She did say, however, that businesses, as well as small- and medium-sized countries had "exciting initiatives."
Nations such as Finland and Germany promised to ban coal within a decade.
Several also mentioned goals of climate neutrality when a country is not adding more heat-trapping carbon to the air than is being removed by plants and perhaps technology by 2050.
Trump dropped by the summit, listened to German Chancellor Angela Merkel make detailed pledges including going coal-free and left without saying anything.
The United States did not ask to speak at the summit, UN officials said. And Guterres had told countries they couldn't be on the agenda without making bold new proposals.
Even though there was no speech by Trump who has denied climate change, called it a Chinese hoax and repealed U.S. carbon-reduction policies he was talked about.
In a jibe at Trump's plans to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris climate agreement, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said countries "must honor our commitments and follow through on the Paris Agreement."
Watch | "How dare you?": 16-year-old #GretaThunberg thunders at UN #ClimateActionSummit
— NDTV (@ndtv) September 23, 2019
Read more here: https://t.co/vtzGYVVljC pic.twitter.com/NdIBMnDosj
If looks could kill. Greta Thunberg is NOT a Trump fan #HowDareYou pic.twitter.com/BeNk8oMkHe
— Rich Wolfenden (@_Wolfenden) September 24, 2019
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Fake IAS officer among 5 held at Indo-Nepal border attempting to cross sides
Bahraich (UP) (PTI): Five persons, including a man posing as an IAS officer, were arrested by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) at the India-Nepal Rupaideha border in Bahraich district while allegedly attempting to enter the neighbouring country in a vehicle that had a red-blue beacon and hooter, police said on Monday.
Circle Officer of Nanpara, Pahup Kumar Singh, told reporters that the incident occurred around 7.30 pm on Sunday when an Innova Crysta with a Uttar Pradesh registration plate and flashing beacon was stopped by SSB personnel at the border during routine checks.
During questioning, one of the occupants identified himself as Dharmendra and claimed to be an IAS officer posted at the Lucknow Secretariat.
However, the SSB, Rupaideha police and other security agencies conducted a detailed inquiry and found that none of them was an IAS officer, nor were they authorised to use a red-blue beacon, the officer said.
The vehicle was registered in Lucknow in the name of a firm, Priya Agencies, owned by the wife of the accused Dharmendra, he added.
The arrested persons were identified as Dharmendra Singh, Shubham Bajpai, Anmol Singh, Sachin Singh and Swapnal Sahay, all residents of Lucknow.
During interrogation, they admitted they were heading to casinos in Nepal to gamble.
Police recovered Rs 2.17 lakh in cash, six mobile phones, an electronic chip device and a power bank from their possession. A case has been registered against them under Section 319 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and further investigation is underway, Singh said.
