Greta Thunberg Blasts Davos Elites for ‘Corporate Greed’

“They prioritize short-term economic gains over people and over the planet.”

Eco-activist Greta Thunberg has criticized the Davos forum elite for putting “corporate greed” ahead of the interests of people and the planet.

The climate activist’s comments came after her brief detention during a protest in Germany earlier this week. Rumors on social media suggested that her detention was staged, but that was not true, Sky News notes.

Greta Thunberg accused the political and business elite at the World Economic Forum in Davos of putting “corporate greed” and “short-term profit” ahead of the planet.

Speaking alongside other activists in Davos, Switzerland, Greta Thunberg, 20, said the elite are “at the center of the climate crisis” and are fueling the destruction of the planet.

Thunberg’s comments follow her brief detention during an eco-protest in Germany against the demolition of a village to expand a nearby coal mine on Tuesday.

Thunberg said: “We are now in Davos, where it is mostly people who are basically fueling the destruction of the planet, people who are at the very heart of the climate crisis, people who are investing in fossil fuels. And yet, somehow, these are the people we seem to rely on to solve our problems. They have proved time and time again that they don’t give it priority. They prioritize personal greed, corporate greed and short-term economic profits above people and above the planet.”

She was joined by other activists who brought a joint letter, signed by nearly 900,000 people, calling on fossil fuel executives to stop all new oil and gas projects.

Dozens of climate activists staged protests at the forum. Some in clown makeup waved banners and chanted slogans at the end of the Davos promenade.

While the forum discussed the need to address climate change among other topics, it has faced criticism for being a discussion forum that results in little direct action.

Greta Thunberga said the necessary changes would likely not come from within Davos, but “from the bottom up” and under public pressure from outside.

Despite claims circulating on social media, Thunberg’s brief detention during a protest near the village of Lützerath in western Germany was not staged.

According to rumors, the incident was staged by the police. However, German police, Reuters journalists and photographers at the scene confirmed that the claim was false.

A spokesman for the Aachen police said that Greta Thunberg’s arrest was not staged, saying that the police are not “extras” for her.

Scientists say no new fossil fuel projects can be implemented if the world wants to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, in line with climate targets set in Paris in 2015.