The Independent View: Environmental Activist Greta Thunberg Scolded Heads of State at UN Summit

World Leaders and Chief Executives of Global Corporations gathered at a United Nations (UN) Summit on Monday to say that a 16-year-old Climate Activist from Sweden is Right They are Failing.

Greta Thunberg, the Teenager who Sparked a Global Youth Movement to Fight Climate Change, arrived in New York on a Zero-Emissions Sailboat, climbed the Stage at the UN and told a Crowd of more than 300 Presidents, Prime Ministers, CEOs, Bankers, and Delegates that they’ve Let Down her entire Generation by Not Acting on Climate Change. “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words,” she said Monday. “How dare you!”

Greta Thunberg Speaks during the UN Climate Summit in New York on Sept. 23rd, 2019.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on World Leaders at Monday’s Climate Action Summit, held in tandem with a Two-Week General Assembly, to make more Aggressive Pledges to Curb Greenhouse-Gas Emissions and keep the World from Warming to Catastrophic Temperatures. The Meeting was marked by at times Contrite Remarks from the likes of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron, and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Even U.S. President Trump made a Surprise Appearance, but didn’t speak.

It followed Youth-Led Climate Strikes that inspired Millions to take to the Streets on Friday, Sept. 20th, 2019, and over the Weekend in Major cities from London to Paris to New York and kicked off a Series of more than 150 Climate-Related Events being held Across Manhattan as Part of a Larger Program known as Climate Week. In all, Billions of Dollars were Pledged by Governments and Businesses to Combat Global Warming, but few made Commitments that went significantly Beyond what they were already doing. And the Leaders of the World’s Two Biggest Polluters, the U.S. and China, were noticeably Absent from the Speakers’ List.

“Not one single nation is getting the job done,” former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said during an Opening Ceremony of Climate Week. “It’s no wonder our kids are in the streets, screaming at us.”

Guterres worked in the days leading up to the Summit to instill a Sense of Urgency among Heads of State. He Warned that the World Faces “at least 3 degrees Celsius of global heating by the end of the century.” And while he won’t be there to see it, he said, “My granddaughters will. And your grandchildren, too. I refuse to be an accomplice in the destruction of their home and only home.”

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the World will continue to Battle Climate Change without the U.S. While Wang didn’t call out Trump by name at the UN Summit, he said the “withdrawal of certain parties” from the Global Climate Agreement “will not shake the collective will of the international community, nor will it reverse the historical trend of international cooperation.”

Corporations have issued Dozens of Pledges in connection with Climate Week, promising to do Everything from Buy Renewable Energy, to Purchase Cleaner Fleets to become Carbon Neutral.

Amazon.com Inc. said it’s Ordering 100,000 Electric Delivery Vehicles as part of a Plan to go Carbon-Neutral by 2040.

Alphabet Inc.’s Google announced the Largest-ever Purchase of Renewable Energy for a Corporation.

Schneider Electric SE, a Global Supplier of Electrical Equipment, is moving up its Goal to become Carbon Neutral by 2025, Five years Ahead of Schedule.

A Group of 13 Oil and Natural Gas Companies including BP Plc, Chevron Corp., and Exxon Mobil Corp. announced an Initiative to “unlock large-scale investment” in Technology that would Capture and Trap Greenhouse Gases.

In all, Guterres said 77 Countries Committed to reaching Net Zero-Carbon Emissions. Almost as many Committed to Bigger Contributions for Climate Change Efforts. For some, it wasn’t enough. “While countries were expected to come to the Summit to announce that they would enhance their climate ambition, most of the major economies fell woefully short,” said Andrew Steer, President of the World Resources Institute.

Guterres called it Progress, but Acknowledged that “we need more concrete plans, more ambition from more countries and more businesses.” And, he said, “We need all financial institutions to choose, once and for all, the green economy.”