That governments, political parties and corporations grasp the urgency of the climate and ecological crisis and come together despite their differences – as you would in an emergency – and take the measures required to safeguard the conditions for a dignified life for everybody on earth. Because then we millions of school-striking youth could go back to school.

  I have a dream that the people in power, as well as the media, start treating this crisis like the existential emergency it is. So that I could go home to my sister and my dogs. Because I miss them.

  In fact I have many dreams. But this is the year 2019. This is not the time and place for dreams. This is the time to wake up. This is the moment in history when we need to be wide awake.

  And yes, we need dreams, we cannot live without dreams. But there’s a time and place for everything. And dreams cannot stand in the way of telling it like it is.

  And yet, wherever I go I seem to be surrounded by fairy tales. Business leaders, elected officials all across the political spectrum spending their time making up and telling bedtime stories that soothe us, that make us go back to sleep. These are feel-good stories about how we are going to fix everything. How wonderful everything is going to be when we have ‘solved’ everything. But the problem we are facing is not that we lack the ability to dream, or to imagine a better world. The problem now is that we need to wake up. It’s time to face the reality, the facts, the science.

  And the science doesn’t mainly speak of ‘great opportunities to create the society we always wanted’. It tells of unspoken human sufferings, which will get worse and worse the longer we delay action – unless we start to act now. And yes, of course a sustainable transformed world will include lots of new benefits. But you have to understand. This is not primarily an opportunity to create new green jobs, new businesses or green economic growth. This is above all an emergency, and not just any emergency. This is the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced.

  And we need to treat it accordingly. So that people can understand and grasp the urgency. Because you cannot solve a crisis without treating it as one. Stop telling people that everything will be fine when in fact, as it looks now, it won’t be very ‘fine’. This is not something you can package and sell or ‘like’ on social media.

  Stop pretending that you, your business idea, your political party or plan will solve everything. We must realize that we don’t have all the solutions yet. Far from it. Unless those solutions mean that we simply stop doing certain things.

  Changing one disastrous energy source for a slightly less disastrous one is not progress.

  Exporting our emissions overseas is not reducing our emissions.

  Creative accounting will not help us. In fact, it’s the very heart of the problem.

  Some of you may have heard that we have twelve years as from January 1, 2018 to cut our emissions of carbon dioxide in half. But I guess that hardly any of you have heard that that is for a 50 per cent chance of staying below a 1.5°C global temperature rise above pre-industrial levels. A 50 per cent chance.

  And these current, best available scientific calculations do not include non-linear tipping points as well as most unforeseen feedback loops like the extremely powerful methane gas escaping from rapidly thawing Arctic permafrost. Or already locked-in warming hidden by toxic air pollution. Or the aspect of equity, climate justice.

  So a 50 per cent chance – a statistical flip of a coin – will most definitely not be enough. That would be impossible to morally defend.

  Would any one of you step onto a plane if you knew it had more than a 50 per cent chance of crashing?

  More to the point: would you put your children on that flight?

  And why is it so important to stay below the 1.5°C limit? Because that is what the united science calls for, to avoid destabilizing the climate, so that we stay clear of setting off an irreversible chain reaction beyond human control. Even at 1°C of warming we are seeing an unacceptable loss of life and livelihoods.

  So where do we begin?

  Well, I would suggest that we start looking at chapter 2, on page 108 of the SR15 IPCC report that came out last year.

  Right there it says that if we are to have a 67 per cent chance of limiting the global temperature rise to below 1.5°C, we had, on January 1, 2018, about 420 gigatonnes of CO2 left to emit in that carbon-dioxide budget. And of course that number is much lower today. As we emit about 42 gigatonnes of CO2 every year, if you include land use.

  With today’s emission levels, that remaining budget is gone within less than 8.5 years.

  These numbers are not my opinions. They aren’t anyone’s opinions or political views. This is the current best available science. Though a great number of scientists suggest even these figures are too moderate, these are the ones that have been accepted by all nations through the IPCC.

  And please note that these figures are global and therefore do not say anything about the aspect of equity, clearly stated throughout the Paris Agreement. Which is absolutely necessary to make it work on a global scale. That means that richer countries need to do their fair share and get down to zero emissions much faster, so that people in poorer countries can heighten their standard of living, by building some of the infrastructure that we have already built. Such as roads, hospitals, schools, clean drinking water and electricity.

  The USA is the biggest carbon polluter in history. It is also the world’s number one producer of oil. And yet, you are also the only nation in the world that has signalled your strong intention to leave the Paris Agreement.

  Because, quote, ‘It was a bad deal for the USA.’

  Four hundred and twenty gigatonnes of CO2 left to emit on January 1, 2018 to have a 67 per cent chance of staying below a 1.5°C global temperature rise.

  Now that figure is already down to less than 360 gigatonnes.

  These numbers are very uncomfortable. But people have the right to know. And the vast majority of us have no idea these numbers even exist. In fact not even the journalists that I meet seem to know that they even exist.

  Not to mention the politicians.

  And yet they all seem so certain that their political plan will solve the entire crisis.

  But how can we solve a problem that we don’t even fully understand? How can we leave out the full picture and the current best available science?

  I believe there is a huge danger in doing so. And no matter how political the background to this crisis may be, we must not allow this to continue to be a partisan political question. The climate and ecological crisis is beyond party politics. And our main enemy right now is not our political opponents. Our main enemy now is physics. And we cannot make ‘deals’ with physics.

  Everybody says that making sacrifices for the survival of the biosphere – and to secure the living conditions for future and present generations – is an impossible thing to do.

  Americans have indeed made great sacrifices to overcome terrible odds before.

  Think of the brave soldiers that rushed ashore in that first wave on Omaha Beach on D-Day.

  Think of Martin Luther King and the 600 other civil rights leaders who risked everything to march from Selma to Montgomery.

  Think of President John F. Kennedy announcing in 1962 that America would ‘choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard’.

  Perhaps it is impossible.

  But looking at those numbers – looking at the current best available science signed by every nation – then I think that is precisely what we are up against.

  But you must not spend all of your time dreaming, or see this as some political fight to win.

  And you must not gamble your children’s future on the flip of a coin.

  Instead, you must unite behind the science.

  You must take action.

  You must do the impossible.

  Because giving up can never ever be an option.

  The World Is Waking Up

  UN General Assembly

  New York City, September 23, 2019

  This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be standing here.

  I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope? How dare you!

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

  People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction. And all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!

  For more than thirty years the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away, and come here saying that you are doing enough.

  When the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight.

  You say you ‘hear’ us and that you understand the urgency. But no matter how sad and angry I am, I don’t want to believe that. Because if you fully understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil.

  And I refuse to believe that.

  The popular idea of cutting our emissions in half in ten years only gives us a 50 per cent chance of staying below 1.5°C and the risk of setting off irreversible chain reactions beyond human control.

  Fifty per cent may be acceptable to you.

  But since those numbers don’t include tipping points, most feedback loops, additional warming hidden by toxic air pollution, nor the aspect of equity, then a 50 per cent risk is simply not acceptable to us, we who have to live with the consequences. We do not accept these odds.

  To have a 67 per cent chance of staying below a 1.5°C global temperature rise, the best odds given by the IPCC, the world had 420 gigatonnes of CO2 left to emit back on January 1, 2018.

  Today, as you can see, that figure is already down to less than 350 gigatonnes. How dare you pretend that this can be solved with business as usual and some technical solutions!

  With today’s emission levels, that remaining CO2 budget will be entirely gone within less than 8.5 years.

  There will not be any solutions or plans presented in line with these figures today. Because these numbers are too uncomfortable. And you are still not mature enough to tell it like it is.

  Your generation is 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.

  We will not let you get away with this. Right here, right now is where we draw the line.

  The world is waking up.

  And change is coming, whether you like it or not.

  We Are the Change and Change Is Coming

  Week for Future, Climate Strike

  Montreal, September 27, 2019

  Bonjour Montréal! Je suis très heureuse d’être ici au Canada au Québec! Ça me rappelle la maison. Merci!

  It’s great to be in Canada. It’s a bit like coming home. I mean, you are so similar to Sweden, where I’m from.

  You have moose and we have moose. You have cold winters and lots of snow and pine trees. And we have cold winters and lots of snow and pine trees.

  You have the caribou and we have reindeer. You play ice hockey and we play ice hockey.

  You have maple syrup and we have . . . well . . . forget about that one.

  You are a nation that allegedly is a climate leader. And Sweden is also a nation that is allegedly a climate leader. And in both cases it sadly means absolutely nothing. Because in both cases it’s just empty words. And the politics needed is still nowhere in sight.

  So we are basically the same!

  Last week well over 4 million people in over 170 countries striked for the climate.

  We marched for a living planet and a safe future for everyone.

  We spoke the science and demanded that the people in power would listen to and act on the science.

  But our political leaders didn’t listen.

  This week world leaders gathered in New York for the UN Climate Action Summit. They disappointed us once again with empty words and insufficient action. We told them to unite behind the science. But they didn’t listen.

  So today we are millions around the world striking and marching again. And we will keep on doing it until they listen. If the people in power won’t take responsibility, then we will. It shouldn’t be up to us, but somebody needs to do it.

  They say we shouldn’t worry, that we should look forward to a bright future. But they forget that if they would have done their job, we wouldn’t need to worry. If they had started in time then this crisis would not be the crisis it is today. And we promise: once they start to do their job and take responsibility, we will stop worrying and go back to school, go back to work. And once again, we are not communicating our opinions or any political views. The climate and ecological crisis is beyond party politics. We are communicating the current best available science.

  To some people – particularly those who in many ways have created this crisis – that science is far too uncomfortable to address. But we who will have to live with the consequences – and indeed those who are living with the climate and ecological crisis already – don’t have a choice. To stay below 1.5°C – and give us a chance to avoid the risk of setting off irreversible chain reactions beyond human control – we must speak the truth and tell it like it is.

  In the IPCC’s SR15 report that came out last year it says on page 108, chapter 2, that to have a 67 per cent chance of staying below a 1.5°C global temperature rise – the best odds given by the IPCC – the world had 420 gigatonnes of CO2 left to emit back on January 1, 2018.

  Today that figure is already down to less than 350 gigatonnes.

  With today’s emissions levels, that remaining CO2 budget will be entirely gone within less than 8.5 years.

  And please note that these calculations do not include already locked-in warming hidden by toxic air pollution, non-linear tipping points, most feedback loops, or the aspect of equity, climate justice.

  They are also relying on my generation sucking hundreds of billions of tonnes of CO2 out of the air with technologies that barely exist.

  And not once, not one single time, have I heard any politician, journalist or business leader even mention these numbers.

  They say let children be children. We agree, let us be children. Do your part, communicate these kinds of numbers instead of leaving that responsibility to us. Then we can go back to ‘being children’.

  We are not in school today. We are not at work today. Because this is an emergency. And we will not be bystanders.

  Some would say we are wasting lesson time; we say we are changing the world. So that when we are older we will be able to say we did everything we could. And we will never stop doing that. We will never stop fighting for the living planet and for our future.

  We will do everything in our power to stop this crisis from getting worse. Even if that means skipping school or work. Because this is more important.

  We have been told so many times that there’s no point in doing this, that we won’t have an impact anyway, that we can’t make a difference. I think we have proven that to be wrong by now.

  Through history, the most important changes in society have come from the bottom up, from grassroots. The numbers are still coming in – but it looks like well over 6.6 million people have joined the Week for Future, the strikes on this and last Friday. That is one of the biggest demonstrations in history. The people have spoken and we will continue to speak until our leaders listen and act. We are the change and change is coming.

  Le changement arrive – si vous l’aimez ou non!

  We Are Fighting for Everyone’s Future

  Edmonton, October 18, 2019

  I want to respectfully acknowledge that we are gathered today on Treaty 6 territory, a traditional gathering place for diverse indigenous peoples, including the Cree, Blackfoot, Métis, Nakota Sioux, Iroquois, Dene, Ojibwe, Inuit, and many others whose histories, languages, cultures and peoples continue all around us.

  Today is Friday. And as always we are on climate strike. Young people all around the globe are today sacrificing their education to bring attention to the climate and ecological emergency. We are not doing this because we want to. We aren’t doing it because it’s fun. We aren’t doing it because we have a special interest in the climate, or because we want to become politicians.

  We are doing this because our future is at stake. We are doing this because we will not be bystanders. We are doing this because we want the people in power to unite behind the science.

  In the IPCC SR1.5 report it says that if we are to have a 67 per cent chance of limiting the global temperature rise to below 1.5°C, we had, on January 1, 2018, 420 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide left in our CO2 budget. And now that number is already down to less than 360 gigatonnes as we emit about 42 gigatonnes of CO2 every year, including land use.

  At current emissions levels, that remaining CO2 budget is gone within less than 8.5 years.

  Again, that budget is for a 67 per cent chance of staying below a 1.5°C global temperature rise and avoiding the risk of setting off several irreversible chain reactions beyond human control, which would lead to enormous sufferings for countless people, especially among indigenous communities and people in the global south. A 67 per cent chance. And that is the best odds the IPCC has given us.

  And please note that these figures are global and do therefore not mention the aspect of equity, clearly stated throughout the Paris Agreement, which is essential to make it work on a global scale. That means that richer countries such as Canada or Sweden need to get down to zero emissions much faster so that people in poorer parts of the world can heighten their standard of living by building some of the infrastructure that we have already built. Such as roads, hospitals, electricity, schools and providing clean drinking water.

 

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