‘Blah, blah, blah’: Greta Thunberg mocks Boris Johnson and other leaders over climate crisis

Greta Thunberg mocked global leaders’ climate emergency speeches at the Youth4Climate summit in Italy today.

The 18-year-old environmental activist was amongst the 400 young people aged between 15 and 29 from 186 countries to participate in the Youth4Climate conference.

Mocking world leaders in her speech, she said: “Build back better. Blah, blah, blah. Green economy. Blah blah blah. Net zero by 2050. Blah, blah, blah.

“This is all we hear from our so-called leaders. Words that sound great but so far have not led to action.

“Our hopes and dreams drown in their empty promises.”

She remarked that we have had “30 years of blah, blah, blah”, and she posed the question “where has that led us?”

Thunberg’s speech comes ahead of the COP26 conference in Glasgow in November.

The conference is one of the most important climate events since the 2015 Paris Agreement as world leaders are set to come together to discuss how to tackle the climate emergency.

The key goals of COP26 are to secure global net zero by 2050, keep 1.5 degrees within reach, adapt to protect communities and natural habitats, mobilise finance, and work together to deliver on climate promises.

To deliver on 2030 emissions reductions targets that align with the 2050 net zero goal, countries will need to come forward with plans that will involve phasing out coal, curtailing deforestation, speed up the switch to electric vehicles, and encourage investment in renewables.

She said: “We can still turn this around – it is entirely possible. It will take immediate, drastic annual emission reductions. But not if things go on like today.

“Our leaders’ intentional lack of action is a betrayal toward all present and future generations.”