Criticising teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg for her recent speech at the United Nations, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed her as a “kind but poorly informed teenager manipulated into making impractical demands.” He said that he doesn’t share excitement about the speech made by her.
Putin was attending a session at an energy forum in Moscow during which he said, “I might dispirit you but I don’t share the common excitement about the speech by Greta Thunberg. No one has explained to Greta that the modern world is complex and different. People in Africa or in many Asian countries want to live at the same wealth level as in Sweden.”
Putin further added that young people who fight for environmental issues should be supported but when people start using children and teenagers in personal interests, it only deserves to be called out. “I’m sure that Greta is a kind and very sincere girl. But adults must do everything not to bring teenagers and children into some extreme situations,” Putin said.
The 16-year old’s raucous speech condemning world leaders for failing to tackle climate change at the United Nations drew mixed reactions from across the world. While one faction hailed the speech for her trenchant criticism of nations for not doing enough to stop climate change, the other faction rubbished it as a prolonged harangue.
Meanwhile, Greta has changed her Twitter bio to ‘Kind but poorly informed teenager’ after Putin took a dig at her.
U.S. President Donald Trump too ridiculed Thunberg and Canadian Member of Parliament Maxime Bernier termed her as alarmist and mentally unstable. However, Thunberg retorted back saying that the ridiculing of children showed that her message had become “too loud to handle”.
