Greta Thunberg: You Say You Want a Revolution?

At the annual meeting of world leaders in 2019 at the United Nations, a 16-year-old climate activist took on the mantle of global leadership, mostly reserved for the US president.

At the United Nations climate summit on Monday, 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg gave the most clever speeches to date. Far from being satisfied with all the attention she receives from world leaders, she is angry that this attention does not lead to radical climate action. This anger can cause problems for the political establishment that so far has chosen to embrace it.

The essence of Thunberg's message - that the world only had 420 gigatons of carbon dioxide to be emitted from January 1, 2018, before the global temperature rises 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels - comes from a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued last year. The IPCC estimated that sticking to this "carbon budget" until the end of the century would have a 66% chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, the goal set in the 2016 Paris climate agreement.

Donald Trump's decision not to participate in the UN climate summit illustrated how devastating Trump's climate-denying policy has undermined America's role in the world as a force for good, and how his actions could contribute to the destruction of the future of countless billions. Meanwhile, Greta Thunberg proclaimed him - and other world leaders - for their malignant neglect by not addressing the most existential threat to humanity, revealing the energy with which a new generation of leaders is determined to act.

Every year leaders come to New York and remind us of the United Nations promise - the idea that the international community can work together to solve shared challenges. The meetings can also demonstrate the ability of American leadership to encourage countries to tackle serious threats. These meetings can deliver real results - promises to tackle a pandemic such as Ebola, for example. Whether it comes to coming up with solutions to urgent challenges or inspiring the world to act, the UN General Assembly can remind us how much America can achieve if it leads and cooperates with partners.

Not this year. Of course, the mere presence of Trump is more than enough to weaken the power of American diplomacy on the largest diplomatic scene in the world, and this year Trump came once again ready to embarrass himself - and America - by reminding the public that he reminded the public that he was trying to force the President of Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden in a movement that should be worthy of a unanimous conviction of accusation.

And so Trump who refused to participate in the UN climate summit was a small surprise by a president who eroded domestic environmental protection, announced his intention to withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreement, and even tried to prevent California introduces higher emission standards for cars.

Enter Thunberg. The show's star was the climate activist from Sweden - who contributed to a worldwide movement of young people who dropped out of school to pressurize their leaders to deal with climate change. Her comments reminded us of what leadership, courage and sacrifice look like.

In conversation with the gathered world leaders, Thunberg outlined the commitment to do nothing about the climate crisis and condemned the worldwide focus on 'money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth'. Thunberg has made it clear what is coming: "You are leaving us. But young people are beginning to understand your betrayal ... We will not let you get away with this ... The world is waking up. And there will be a change if you like it or not. "

Read everything Thunberg said. Note the passion - and the justified anger - in how she said it. Too many world leaders - political, business, social - collectively rob the youth of the world of their future. The lack of action means that young people like them have to sacrifice, Thunberg said: “This is completely wrong. I shouldn't be standing here. I should be back to school on the other side of the ocean. But do you all come to me for hope? How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and my youth with your empty words. "

Thunberg's sacrifice could not find a stronger contrast than the selfishness of Trump, who only pays attention to himself. His selfishness was again illustrated when he mocked Thunberg's speech.

If politicians find no way to act quickly and on a scale that the world has never seen to mitigate the effects of climate change, the strikes of students and marches will fade compared to what we are likely to see in the future. If entire generations know as a scientific fact that the earth will become violently inhospitable to large parts of humanity in their lives, what actions would we expect?

Thunberg is right - change is coming. There are leaders from countries and companies who make commitments to tackle the climate crisis. Local governments, such as California, try to move forward on their own when their countries relinquish their responsibility. And, as Thunberg illustrates, younger generations are starting to mobilize. A survey among American teenagers noted that about one in four people between the ages of 13 and 17 took action - attended a protest, participated in a strike written to an official - to argue for a change in climate policy.

But time is not on our side, and the longer the actions of Trump and other leaders who defend the use of fossil fuels are allowed to stand, the more disastrous the results will be for our children.

American leadership is needed to tackle the climate crisis. America is by far the largest cumulative contribution to emissions since the industrial revolution and is currently the second-largest emitter (after China). America has the responsibility to act; the worst effects of climate change cannot be averted without US action and Americans are already feeling the pain of the climate crisis.

In addition, American leadership, if used correctly, can produce results. The US has the unique ability to bring countries together in the climate field, as we saw when the US and China (the world's largest current channel) reached a deal that created the political momentum that led to the Paris agreement.

The speech that Thunberg made should be repeated by an American president and be accompanied by radical measures to reduce emissions. Unfortunately, such an America is currently asleep. In his annual UN speech, Trump again trumpeted his nationalist "America first" policy that does nothing but reject the world. Trump has yet taken the power of American leadership to do good.

But Thunberg and her generation are ready to lead and sacrifice. The youth of the world will not accept failure - they have no choice.