Greta Thunberg says she will not attend Cop26 climate summit
Swedish activist says uneven Covid vaccine rollout means countries would not participate on even terms
The Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg has said she will not attend the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow in November, saying the uneven distribution of Covid-19 vaccines would mean countries could not participate on even terms.
The 18-year-old activist said that by November richer countries would be vaccinating young healthy people “very often at the expense of people in at-risk groups in other parts of the world”.
“With the extremely inequitable vaccine distribution I will not attend the Cop26 conference if the development continues as it is now,” Thunberg said.
Confirming a BBC report, Thunberg said the conference should be postponed “if everyone could not attend in the same terms”. The conference has already been postponed once as it was originally planned for November 2020.
However, the campaigner said she did not rule out reversing her decision if vaccine access improved.
“Of course, I would love to attend the Cop26. But not unless everyone can take part on the same terms,” she said.
Thunberg, who began campaigning against the climate emergency in 2018 at the age of 15, has earned Amnesty International’s top human rights prize and the Swedish Right Livelihood award. In 2019, she was named person of the year by Time magazine.
The 18-year-old activist said that by November richer countries would be vaccinating young healthy people “very often at the expense of people in at-risk groups in other parts of the world”.
“With the extremely inequitable vaccine distribution I will not attend the Cop26 conference if the development continues as it is now,” Thunberg said.
Confirming a BBC report, Thunberg said the conference should be postponed “if everyone could not attend in the same terms”. The conference has already been postponed once as it was originally planned for November 2020.
However, the campaigner said she did not rule out reversing her decision if vaccine access improved.
“Of course, I would love to attend the Cop26. But not unless everyone can take part on the same terms,” she said.
Thunberg, who began campaigning against the climate emergency in 2018 at the age of 15, has earned Amnesty International’s top human rights prize and the Swedish Right Livelihood award. In 2019, she was named person of the year by Time magazine.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
