Updated 15:20 IST, January 23rd 2020
Greta Thunberg denies saying 'the world has 8 years to save the climate', WEF apologises
Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg denied saying the world has eight years to save the climate after the World Economic Forum quoted her on Twitter
Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg denied saying the world had eight years to save the climate and environment after the World Economic Forum (WEF) quoted her on Twitter. Thunberg took the centre stage at the WEF 2020 in Davos, Switzerland, to talk about climate action. Referring to a report by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Thunberg said that “remaining budget is gone within eight years” at the current rate of carbon emission levels.
.@GretaThunberg tells Davos 2020: We have eight years to save the climate https://t.co/j80IqPOt2T @TIME #wef20 pic.twitter.com/LT8Sf2rUCX
— World Economic Forum (@wef) January 21, 2020
WEF apologises
After WEF tweet, Greta denied saying anything close to it and added that she will never say it.
I have never said anything like this, nor will I ever say it. It’s never too late to do as much as we can, every fraction of a degree matters. There are of course no magical “dates” for “saving the world”.
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) January 21, 2020
I am only quoting the SR1,5 IPCC report on remaining CO2 budgets. https://t.co/zsvcYeo5tT
The WEF immediately issued an apology for the misinterpretation and shared the exact statement she made at the event.
Sorry @GretaThunberg, it's been a busy first day of #wef20. Here's what that tweet should have looked like https://t.co/iXkl7uR8cf
— World Economic Forum (@wef) January 21, 2020
'End fossil fuel subsidies'
At the global event, the 17-year-old climate activist reiterated that leaders have failed to take comprehensive measures to avert the climate crisis. She called for an immediate end to fossil fuel subsidies and completely divest from fossil fuels. “We don't want these things done by 2050, or 2030, or even 2021, we want this done now," said Thunberg.
“We're not telling you to offset your emissions by paying someone to plant trees in somewhere like Africa, while at the same time forests like the Amazon are being slaughtered at an infinitely higher rate,” she added at the 50th meet of WEF.
Published 15:19 IST, January 23rd 2020