‘Pretty Much Nothing Has Been Done’: Greta Thunberg Rues in Davos

Activist Greta Thunberg said climate has become a hot topic but “nothing has been done” to actually save the planet.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.

(Photo Courtesy: AP)

Young climate campaigner Greta Thunberg on Tuesday, 21 January, said a lot has happened since her campaign caught the eyes of the world but "nothing has been done" to actually save the planet.

"In one aspect, lots has happened since last year. The mass mobilisation of young people around the world has put climate at the top of the agenda," the 17-year old campaigner from Sweden said at the WEF Annual Meeting.

“People are more generally aware now. The climate and the environment is a hot topic. But – and it’s a big but – from another perspective, pretty much nothing has been done,” she said.

It is just the "very beginning" and a lot needs to be done given the ever increasing greenhouse gas emissions, she said.

Thunberg also said she can't complain about not being heard as she is a person who is being heard all the time, drawing applause from the audience.

Thunberg and a panel of other young activists were speaking at a panel about how their efforts to improve the world can achieve the desired results.

The participants included Salvador Gmez-Coln, who raised funds and awareness after Hurricane Mara devastated his native Puerto Rico in 2017.

Natasha Mwansa, from Zambia who campaigns for girls' and women's rights, and Autumn Peltier, Chief Water Commissioner for the Anishinabek Nation of indigenous people in Canada, were also present.

In 2018, Greta began protesting outside the Swedish parliament during school hours with a sign painted with the words, Skolstrejk for Klimatet (School Strike for Climate). Greta has continued to strike every Friday, inspiring hundreds of thousands of children worldwide to follow her example.