On a Tuesday in the Turkish resort city of Antalya, Greta Thunberg arrived at COP31 and offered a blunt verdict on the machinery of international climate diplomacy: that it is hypocritical, that hosts use it to polish their reputations, and that the rooms where decisions take shape are crowded with the representatives of industries that profit from the very harm being negotiated. Her remarks land at a moment when floods and heatwaves have already marked the year and a new energy shock is rippling outward from war in the Middle East, reminding the world how tightly the question of what powers o
Thunberg Calls COP31 Talks Hypocritical as Antalya Summit Opens Under Energy Shock
Everything and everyone we love is at stake.
Mark
Why does it matter that Thunberg showed up at this one in particular?
Mimi
She hasn't been to a COP since Glasgow in 2021, where she called leaders' promises "blah, blah, blah". Her return, and her blunt words on arrival, set a tone before the talks really begin.
Mark
What exactly is she accusing the summit of?
Mimi
Two things: that host countries use it to whitewash themselves, and that lobbyists paid by destructive industries fill the negotiations.
Luke
Those are her claims, though. The report doesn't give numbers on lobbyists or name any in Antalya.
Mimi
True. What it does document is the hosts' energy mix: Turkiye and Australia promote renewables but still lean heavily on coal.
Mark
And past hosts?
Mimi
Brazil, the UAE and Azerbaijan, all major oil producers, which gives her point about hosting some context.
Luke
Context isn't proof of whitewashing, though. The reporting shows reliance on fossil fuels, not that the hosts are misleading anyone.
Mark
How are young activists reacting?
Mimi
Warmly. Amber Turner of the Alliance of Small Island States and Qiyun Woo of Singapore both welcomed her presence, and many youth delegates want more climate finance.
Luke
Whether that pressure changes any outcome is unknown. The talks run until November 20, and nothing is decided yet.
O Pulso
- Greta Thunberg has arrived in Antalya and is calling the COP31 talks hypocritical, sharpening a long-running rift between activists and the climate summit process.
- Accusations that host nations use the summit to whitewash their records collide with the reality that co-hosts Turkiye and Australia still lean heavily on coal.
- Lobbyists from fossil-fuel and other destructive industries are said to shape the negotiating rooms, turning a debate about survival into a contest over profit and power.
- Youth delegates, including a Small Island States fellow and a Singaporean environmentalist, are rallying behind Thunderg's presence and pressing hard for more climate finance.
- With the talks closing on November 20 and an energy shock from the Iran war still unfolding, the outcome remains open and the pressure for concrete commitments is mounting.
On a Tuesday in the Turkish resort city of Antalya, Greta Thunberg arrived at COP31 and offered a blunt verdict on the machinery of international climate diplomacy: that it is hypocritical, that hosts use it to polish their reputations, and that the rooms where decisions take shape are crowded with the representatives of industries that profit from the very harm being negotiated. Her remarks land at a moment when floods and heatwaves have already marked the year and a new energy shock is rippling outward from war in the Middle East, reminding the world how tightly the question of what powers our lives is bound to the question of who gets protected. Whether the talks, which run until November 20, can answer her charge with more than ceremony is the question that will carry forward toward Addis Ababa in 2027.
Greta Thunberg arrived at the COP31 climate conference in the Turkish resort city of Antalya on Tuesday and did not hold back. The Swedish activist called the United Nations climate talks hypocritical and urged world leaders to place people and the planet above profit and power.
Her sharpest target was the way the summits are staged. Host countries, she argued, are handed a platform to whitewash their own records, while the negotiations are crowded with lobbyists working for industries that profit from a violent status quo. She went further, saying political and economic systems have grown incompatible with human nature.
The summit opens against a grim backdrop: deadly heatwaves and floods over the past year, and a fresh energy shock triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran. The hosts give her case material to work with. Turkiye and Australia promote renewables and rooftop solar, yet both still depend heavily on coal, and earlier hosts Brazil, the UAE and Azerbaijan were major oil producers.
Thunberg first drew global attention in 2018, when at 15 she began a solitary school strike outside the Swedish parliament. Antalya is her first COP since Glasgow in 2021, where she mocked leaders' promises as "blah, blah, blah". Her arrival has energized youth activists, who are pressing for climate finance. Amber Turner of the Alliance of Small Island States hopes her presence will remind people why the movement began, while Singaporean youth environmentalist Qiyun Woo called it a powerful signal from a generation that inherits these negotiations. The talks run until November 20, and COP32 follows in Addis Ababa in November 2027.
Greta Thunberg arrived at the COP31 climate conference in the Turkish resort city of Antalya on Tuesday and wasted little time describing what she thinks of the process she had come to attend. The Swedish activist called the United Nations climate talks hypocritical and urged world leaders to put people and the planet ahead of profits and power.
Her sharpest criticism was aimed at how the summits are staged. Every year, she said, host countries are handed a chance to whitewash their own records, and the negotiations themselves are crowded with lobbyists paid by the destructive industries that profit from what she called an extremely violent status quo. She added that political and economic systems have become incompatible with human nature.
She framed the stakes in broad terms. Climate change, Thunberg said, is threatening everything, and everything and everyone we love is at stake. Governments, in her view, should act to protect and benefit people rather than constantly sacrificing the global majority and the planet itself so that a fortunate few can keep making unimaginable profits and holding on to geopolitical power.
The summit opens against a difficult backdrop. The past year brought deadly climate-related disasters, including heatwaves and floods, and the world is now dealing with another energy shock, this one caused by the US-Israel war on Iran.
The hosting arrangements give her argument some material to work with. Turkiye and Australia, the COP31 co-hosts, are promoting renewable energy and rooftop solar installations, yet both still depend heavily on fossil fuels, particularly coal, to generate electricity. Previous hosts include Brazil, the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan, all of them major oil producers.
Thunberg first came to wide attention in 2018, when at 15 she began a solitary School Strike for Climate outside the Swedish parliament. Antalya is the first COP she has attended since the 2021 talks in Glasgow, Scotland, where she dismissed world leaders' promises as "blah, blah, blah". In the years between, she has taken up other causes, including the Free Palestine movement, and more recently she backed French students protesting for more school resources.
Her arrival has stirred excitement among many of the youth climate activists at the conference, who are pressing for more climate finance. Amber Turner, a 26-year-old fellow with the Alliance of Small Island States, told The Associated Press she hopes Thunberg's presence reminds people why the work began: to push for meaningful change, hold decision-makers accountable, and build a better future for all of humanity. Qiyun Woo, a youth environmentalist from Singapore, called Thunberg's presence powerful and said it adds to the calls of a generation that inherits the consequences of these negotiations.
COP31 runs in Antalya until November 20. The next edition, COP32, is scheduled for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in November 2027.
Citações Notáveis
It's a hypocrisy every year that the host countries are given an opportunity to whitewash themselves.— Greta Thunberg
Her presence reminds us of why we started this work in the first place.— Amber Turner, Alliance of Small Island States fellow (paraphrased)
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