Greta Thunberg blasts UN climate talks as ‘hypocrisy’ at COP31

ANTALYA, Turkey — Climate activist Greta Thunberg arrived at U.N. climate talks on Tuesday, condemning the annual proceedings as hypocritical and urging leaders to put people and the planet ahead of profits and power.

The COP31 conference is being held in the Turkish resort city of Antalya following a year of deadly climate-related disasters, including heat waves and floods, and another energy shock caused by the Iran war.

“It’s a hypocrisy every year that the host countries are given an opportunity to whitewash themselves and we know that these negotiations are filled with lobbyists, paid by the very destructive industries which are benefiting from our extremely violent status quo,” Thunberg said as she arrived. “Our political and economic systems that have become incompatible with human nature.”

COP31 co-hosts Turkey and Australia are promoting renewable energy and rooftop solar installations, but both still rely heavily on fossil fuels, especially coal, to generate electricity. Previous hosts, including Brazil, the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan, are major oil producers.

Climate change is “threatening everything,” Thunberg said, warning that “everything and everyone we love is at stake.”

“We should act to protect and benefit people rather than constantly sacrificing the global majority and the…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world