‘The planet is not dying, it is being murdered’, says Greta Thunberg at COP31

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg stated this Thursday (12), at COP31, in Antalya, Turkey, that the planet is not dying, but being murdered. According to her, those responsible are often the same people from whom a solution was expected.

In a speech during the conference, Greta said that the world is heading towards a future with more genocides and ecocides, with complete violation of fundamental rights. In this scenario, basic needs would become a luxury, on a planet even more affected by global warming.

For the activist, spaces like the conference make it clearer than ever that the situation is far from being under control.

"The planet is not dying. It is being murdered. And we know by whom, and it is being murdered by the same people we often thought would come to rescue us. No one will come to rescue us," he said.

COP31 is the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It is the annual meeting where countries around the world negotiate how to contain global warming. This year's edition takes place in Antalya between November 9th and 20th, under the presidency of Türkiye and with Australia leading the negotiations. The previous conference was COP30, in Belém.

The Swedish woman became known around the world for inspiring millions of young people to skip classes to demand that governments cut greenhouse gas emissions, which cause global warming.

Greta is participating in her first COP and was an expected presence by environmentalists, state leaders and protesters.

In his speech, he also said that, when States and other institutions threaten human rights, defending them becomes everyone's duty. For her, the more privileged the person, the greater the responsibility to take a stand and “be the responsible adult” in the fight for human rights.