Now that the young Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg has had her say at the United Nations Climate Change summit, we ask the question; What did world leaders think of her extraordinary outpouring of fury seemingly aimed directly at world leaders who looked on with both admiration, and it has to be said shock?
Furthermore, we must also ask will it make any difference, all will world leaders now that the conference is over, just continue to sweep the growing problem of both “Climate Change” and its effect on “Global Warming” under the carpet something which it would seem they have been doing for many years?
First of all I have to say I have total respect for the young Swedish activist, and feel it is so tragic that our own children have to teach us adults about the dangers of a problem, which quite frankly, has been staring at us in the face, for over 50 years, I myself have felt the utter contempt some deniers have for “Climate Change” activists, through two separate informational “Global warming” websites I run “Global Warming Media” and “World Global Warming,” quite frankly some of the comments are both derogatory and quite honestly frightening, so I write this opinion-based narrative with entirely open eyes, knowing that I will receive many outrageously worded comments.
OK, down to the business in-hand: While it was nice to see that the summit held at the UN offices in New York closed with some feeling of cautious praise, not only for its apparent achievements but also as they put it “their condemnation for its failures,” not often will you hear politicians or world leaders admitting that they have failed, on the other hand you got a distinct feeling that, OK, that’s over lets just all go home and carry on with our own agendas, something these so-called leaders have done time after time again.
So what did these leaders say were going to do once they got back home?
Germany amid great fanfare pledged that they would meet carbon-cutting targets as already promised in the past, something critics described as totally unfit for purpose, even though scientists will on Tuesday describe that alarming changes in the natural world will cause the polar ice to melt, thus causing unprecedented rises in sea-levels, rises which will destroy low-lying Islands, and in some cases low-lying cities, make no doubt about it, our world will be changed forever.
China, India, and the EU repeated their promise saying they are committed to more robust carbon-curbing plans in 2020, just how they plan to achieve this is anyone's guess.
Finland has given itself a new target by aiming to be the first nation to absorb more carbon than it produces, once more no indications on just how they will accomplish this.
Pakistan, say they have planted at least a billion trees in the last five years and has pledged to plant another 10 billion in the next five years. Pakistan should be congratulated as they are one of the few countries who have come through with past promises.
As for cash strapped Greece they have said that they will ban single-use plastics by 2021 and phase out its use of the dirtiest coal by 2028, just how they will phase out the coal no one knows.
So what will the young Swedish activist Greta Thunberg do now that she has made her point to the UN?
Well, it is quite clear that she intends to keep the pressure on so good for her as both she and her colleagues plan to file lawsuits against five different nations because they were breaching the rights of children by jeopardising the climate. So leaders of the world lookout.
In ending, although there is still much more work to do at least the message of Global Warming caused by Climate Change is gaining more and more support throughout the world.
Steve Simmonds