Greta Thunberg

This is not about individual actions. This is about systemic change.

We are telling you to act as if you loved your children above all else.

The world is waking up. And change is coming whether you like it or not.

You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I'm one of the lucky ones.

We demand a safe future. Is that too much to ask?

I want you to act as if our house is on fire. Because it is.

Our lives are in your hands.

Some people, some companies, some decision-makers in particular, have known exactly what priceless values they have been sacrificing to continue making unimaginable amounts of money. And I think many of you here today belong to that category.

I have learned that you are never too small to make a difference.

How dare you pretend that this can be solved with just 'business as usual' and some technical solutions? With today's emissions levels, that budget will be entirely gone in less than 8 1/2 years.

I don't want your hope. I don't want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act.

We are facing an existential crisis. And yet, there is almost no discussion or sense of urgency whatsoever. We are not just talking about 'change.' We are talking about death.

For way too long, the words of the powerful have been without consequences. But that is not the case anymore.

If you ask me what my biggest fear is, it is that we will continue like this, and people will just give up.

We children are doing this to wake the adults up. We children are doing this for you to put your differences aside and start acting as you would in a crisis. We children are doing this because we want our hope back.

Either we prevent a 1.5 degree of warming or we don't. Either we avoid unleashing irreversible chain reactions beyond human control or we don't. Either we do it or we don't. That is how black or white the issue is.

The climate crisis is not just about the environment. It is a crisis of human rights, of justice, and of willpower. Political systems have failed. But human beings have not.

You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you.

I want to challenge those who claim to be leaders to step up and take responsibility.

We are facing the sixth mass extinction, and the current rate of species extinction is 1,000 to 10,000 times higher than what is considered normal.