Climate activist Greta Thunberg called out “lying” political leaders during a surprise appearance at the Glastonbury Festival.
She told festivalgoers that dishonesty in public office has not “only become socially acceptable” but something the public now expects.
The 19-year-old told crowds at Worthy Farm they face a battle against “the forces of greed” if they want to prevent a “total natural catastrophe” caused by climate change.
She appeared on the main Pyramid Stage this afternoon to share a short speech on the climate, telling crowds it will only get worse.
However, she insisted that “we can still avoid the worse consequences” of climate change.
She said: "Together we can do the seemingly impossible."
Greta tweeted this morning: “I’m excited to announce that today I will be on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury at 5.15pm. See you there!”
Addressing revellers, she said: “We are at the beginning of a climate and ecological emergency. This is not the new normal, this crisis will continue to get worse... until we prioritise people and planet over profits and greed.”
The activist added that “we have been lied to, we have been deprived of our rights as democratic citizens and been left unaware” of the true scale of the climate crisis.
She added that “we need immediate drastic emissions reductions” and “we need to make fundamental changes to our societies.”
The Swede continued: “The forces of greed and profit and planetary destructions are so powerful that our fight for the natural world is limited to a desperate struggle to avoid a total natural catastrophe.
“We should be fighting for people and for nature, but instead we are fighting against those who are set on destroying it. Today our political leaders are allowed to say one thing then do the exact opposite.”
She accused powerful world leaders of “actively creating loopholes” that directly benefit destructive industries.
She said they “claim to be climate leaders while at the same time expand their nation’s fossil fuel infrastructure”.
She told crowds: "They can say we are in a climate emergency as they open up new coal mines, new oil fields, and new pipelines.
"It has not only become socially acceptable for our leaders to lie, but it is also more or less what we expect them to do."
Her speech comes ahead of her book, The Climate Book, which is set to be released in October.
The book has more than 100 scientists, communicators and activists weigh in on the climate, ecological and sustainability crises.
