Greta Thunberg makes it clear at Davos 2020: You should be panicking

Greta Thunberg didn't mince words at Davos 2020. Addressing business and political leaders in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, she said their "inaction is fueling the flames by the hour" and accused them of "empty words and promises."

At an event hosted by The New York Times on Tuesday, the 17-year-old Swedish climate activist recalled the words of her 2019 Davos speech.

"One year ago I came to Davos and told you that our house is on fire. I said I wanted you to panic," she said. "I’ve been warned that telling people to panic about the climate crisis is a very dangerous thing to do. But don’t worry. It’s fine. Trust me, I’ve done this before and I assure you it doesn’t lead to anything."

"You say children shouldn’t worry. You say: 'Just leave this to us. We will fix this, we promise we won’t let you down,'" she added. "And then — nothing. Silence. Or something worse than silence. Empty words and promises which give the impression that sufficient action is being taken."

Skip to around the eight-minute mark below to watch Thunberg's speech in full.

Thunberg said that in the days preceding the 50th anniversary of the World Economic Forum, she joined a group of climate activists demanding that world business and political leaders start taking action. She then gave a list of demands:

We demand that at this year’s World Economic Forum participants from all companies, banks, institutions and governments:

Immediately halt all investments in fossil fuel exploration and extraction.

Immediately end all fossil fuel subsidies.

And immediately and completely divest from fossil fuels.

We don’t want these things done by 2050, 2030 or even 2021, we want this done now.

"It may seem like we’re asking for a lot. And you will of course say that we are naive. But this is just the very minimum amount of effort that is needed to start the rapid sustainable transition," she said. "So either you do this or you’re going to have to explain to your children why you are giving up on the 1.5-degree target."

She went on to say that her generation will not give up without a fight.

"I wonder, what will you tell your children was the reason to fail and leave them facing the climate chaos you knowingly brought upon them? The 1.5-degree target? That it seemed so bad for the economy that we decided to resign the idea of securing future living conditions without even trying?" she said.

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A few hours prior to this speech, Thunberg made remarks at a panel with other young environmentalists, warning that time was running out to keep the increase in global temperature below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). 

"Our house is still on fire. Your inaction is fueling the flames by the hour. We are still telling you to panic, and to act as if you loved your children above all else," she concluded.